Pakistan: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl raises alarm over widespread rigging of votes

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 11 : Rejecting the results of polls held in Pakistan on February 8, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) has said rigging in elections has made history, Pakistan-based The News International reported.
In a statement on Saturday, JUIF Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will soon hold a meeting of the Central General Council to take decisions on the future action plan. He said leaders of national mainstream parties were forcibly defeated while little-known candidates were helped to secure win in their constituencies.
He noted that mobile phone service was shut down on the polling day to achieve the desired result. He asked why the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was so helpless and added that the commission had set new traditions, according to The News International report.
Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said it also happened in general elections that were conducted in 2013 and 2018. He raised the question of why the ECP was determined to give Pakistan an unelected government containing people who would act as showpieces.
Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman called a meeting of the central working committee and senior leaders in Islamabad on February 14, The News International reported.
During the meeting, the leaders of JUI-F will hold a discussion on the situation arising after the elections held on February 8, according to JUI-F spokesperson's statement. He said that the JUI-F leadership, while expressing reservations over the results of the elections, felt that an attempt had been made to push them to the wall.
Amid the upheaval in Pakistan over delayed election results, with some reports putting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates in the lead or winning, many electoral candidates approached courts alleging that their defeat was a result of 'rigging,' Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
According to the report, several more candidates could be moving high courts over the next few days, alleging that the votes were rigged. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-affiliated independent candidates have also approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging the results of the PP-164 and NA-118, where father-son duo Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz secured wins.
In his petition, independent candidate Yousuf Mio, who contested against the PML-N president, claimed that the returning officer (RO) did not allow the petitioner to enter the office.
"The results were announced in the petitioner's absence," stated the application, urging the court to direct the returning officer to announce the results as per Form 45."The court also bars the Election Commission from issuing the final result," the petitioner said, requesting the court to declare Form-47 results' null and void.
Meanwhile, Alia Hamza's husband, whose wife contested against Hamza Shehbaz, challenged the result and noted that the PML-N candidate lost the election as per Form-45, ARY News reported.
Yasmeen Rashid has challenged former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's win in Lahore's NA-130 constituency in the Lahore High Court (LHC). Another independent candidate, Shehzad Farooq, challenged Maryam Nawaz's win from Lahore's NA:119 while another PML-N candidate, Ata Tarar's win from NA:127 was also challenged in court by PTI-supported independent candidate Zaheer Abbas Khokhar.
Rehana Dar, mother of Usman Dar, petitioned the High Court for the recounting of votes in Sialkot's NA-71, challenging the win for PML-N veteran Khawaja Asif in the Sialkot constituency. In Islamabad, PTI-backed candidates Shoaib Shaheen and Ali Bukhari also challenged the results of constituencies NA-47 and NA-48, respectively, in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), according to ARY News report.
Speaking to reporters, Shoaib Shaheen said, "We have requested the registrar's office to schedule an immediate hearing. We urge the chief justice to expedite the case since all of Islamabad knows that NA-47 is my constituency. I have the Form-45. We have won this election with a significant majority," ARY News reported
The PTI-backed Independent candidate blamed the powers that be for "pressuring the returning officers" and added that "Today, you are replaying the crime you committed in the past. Now the only hope left is the judiciary."
According to ARY News, results for 257 out of the total 265 National Assembly constituencies where elections were held had been announced, which showed the independent candidates in the lead with 100 seats overall. The PML-N and PPP had won 73 and 54 seats, respectively.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had bagged 17 seats, while the PML-Q had three, according to ARY News report. The JUI-F and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) had secured three and two seats, respectively.