Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif reacts to the AJK election results in a televised address on Tuesday. SCREENSHOT
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday hailed the victory of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the first phase of elections to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and slammed the Pakistan People’s Party for alleging fraud, urging it to accept the result instead of blaming her party.
The PML-N emerged as the dominant party in the first phase of the AJK Legislative Assembly elections, winning nine of the 13 contested seats in Mirpur division, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results, while the PPP won the remaining four seats.
Reacting to the results in a televised address, the Punjab Chief Minister said the PPP’s response was disappointing, adding that instead of accepting its defeat in the spirit of democracy, the party had resorted to statements and expression of anger.
Read: PML-N secures solid lead in AJK polls, wins 9 of 13 seats in Mirpur as unofficial results trickle in
“Bilawal Bhutto Zardari just issued a statement saying that the state has decided that the PML-N will win. Bilawal sahab, I want to explain to you that it is not the state that decides elections; it is the people who decide elections,” she said.
The chief minister also referred to the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, where the PPP secured majority of seats, and said the PML-N had accepted these results and supported the formation of the PPP government.
“In Gilgit-Baltistan, the people decided in your favor. The PML-N wholeheartedly and happily acknowledged your victory. The Prime Minister congratulated you and supported you in forming the government,” the chief minister said, adding that when the PPP won the elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, there were no allegations of rigging, but when it was soundly defeated in the AJK elections, it accused the elections of being faked.
Referring to the PPP’s election rallies, she said they were all empty, although that was not necessarily a symbol of success, and added that the party should have worked on its rhetoric and performance.
“You had no narrative, no agenda for the people of AJK, no reform agenda for AJK, no performance to show and no record of governance,” she added.
Referring to the PPP government, which has been ruling Sindh for over 17 years, she said the continuity that the PPP had enjoyed in the province had not been available to any other party in any other province, and yet despite this, the party did not have a single project to highlight in Sindh.
