ISLAMABAD:
A broad opposition alliance, including Imran Khan’s PTI, on Monday rejected election results in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), alleging widespread fraud and manipulation, and announced plans for protests and further political action.
The PPP came out on top in the UK election, with unofficial results showing the party ahead with 11 of the 24 seats up for grabs in Sunday’s poll. The PML-N was leading in five constituencies; the PTI on three and its ally, MWM, on one seat. Independent candidates were ahead in two constituencies.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, president of the PTI, said the elections were “fake and rigged”, announcing that the party would observe a “black day” in Britain on the day of the swearing-in and publish a white paper detailing the alleged irregularities.
He claimed that the PTI had won clear victories in at least eight constituencies and had Form 47 results for three seats.
“We won 100 percent in eight seats when we should have received the official results,” he said, alleging pre-election fraud and a “systematic plan” to exclude the PTI from the electoral process.
Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, who also heads the MWM party, denounced large-scale manipulation, citing delays in results and selective dissemination of results as factors raising serious questions about transparency.
He claimed an “information blackout” in the region was aimed at covering up the facts and accused authorities of denying PTI candidates a level playing field.
He alleged political interference, ground-level coercion and organized defections, saying such practices distorted the electoral environment.
“The public mandate has been stolen and redistributed,” he said, warning that undermining real political leadership could create a dangerous vacuum and erode trust in the state.
Separately, an alliance of opposition parties – TTAP – also held a consultative meeting, chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who is also the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
The meeting was attended by Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI chief Asad Qaiser, former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and alliance spokesperson Akhunzada.
In a strongly worded statement issued after the meeting, TTAP claimed that opposition parties, particularly the PTI, had been deliberately sidelined by various tactics in Britain’s elections. He called the process a “rehearsal for the 2024 general elections” and categorically rejected the results.
“When decisions are made elsewhere, elections become a mere formality,” he said, adding that the credibility of the British Electoral Commission and the electoral process had been seriously damaged.
He stressed that public support cannot be “snatched or stolen” and warned that any power gained through manipulation would not be sustainable.
