Imran Khan's party warns of protest, Nawaz Sharif plans alliance as Pakistan stares at political crisis: Updates

Pakistan's army chief told the politicians today to show maturity and unity after the election results threw a hung assembly.

Islamabad: Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party on Saturday threatened the country's election commission that it will launch a protest if complete results for the general elections are not announced by midnight. The potential political crisis emerged as independent candidates backed by jailed former PM Imran Khan's party won 101 out of 265 seats in the National Assembly.

1. The counting of votes is underway for over two days. PTI chief Gohar Ali said the returning officers would face protests outside their offices if the results are not declared on the remaining seats.
2. Claiming that his party had won 170 seats including those seats on which the PTI was already declared as the winner, Gohar said, his party would form the government at the centre as well as in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
3. Pakistan's army chief told the politicians today to show maturity and unity after the election results threw a hung assembly. The independent candidates backed by Imran Khan's party have put in jeopardy the army's plans to install a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
4. "Elections are not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people. As the people of Pakistan have reposed their combined trust in the Constitution of Pakistan, it is now incumbent upon all political parties to reciprocate the same with political maturity and unity. The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people," army chief General Syed Asim Munir said.
5. Nawaz Sharif's PML-N declared victory on Friday amid allegations of vote-rigging. It has emerged as the single-largest party but it will have to cut deals with independents and rivals. "We don't have enough of a majority to run the government ourselves, therefore we invite the other parties and candidates who have been successful to work with us," he said in the city.
6. Khan, in an AI-generated video, claimed his party was winning the elections until rigging started. "According to independent sources, we were winning 150 national assembly seats before the rigging started," he said.
7. While Nawaz Sharif's PML-N won 73 seats, PPP won 54. Minor parties shared 27 seats between them -- including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which took 17.
8. Khan's loyalists who won the elections are concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Two PTI supporters were killed here during a protest against alleged election rigging in Shangla.
9. Britain and the United States reacted to reports of election rigging. Britain said it noted "serious concerns" about the election, while the United States said that "claims of interference or fraud should be fully investigated".
10. Pakistan's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai wrote on X that politicians must accept the verdict with grace. "Pakistan needs free and fair elections, which includes transparency in counting votes and respect for the results. I believe today, as I always have, that we must accept the voters’ decision with grace. I hope our elected officials, whether in government or opposition parties, will prioritise democracy and prosperity for the people of Pakistan,” she posted on X.

Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party protest outside an election commission office in Karachi on February 10, 2024, amid claims the election result delay is allowing authorities to rig the vote-counting. (AFP)

With inputs from PTI, AFP