Days after Pakistan’s Feb. 8 general election, the Election Commission of Pakistan released the official results confirming a major political upset. Contrary to what most political pundits and observers had predicted, independents aligned with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the most seats at the national level, followed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz […]
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Pakistan: Will February 8 Elections Strengthen Democracy And Bring Economic Stability? – OpEd
After Pakistan witnessed political, judicial, and economic strife during PTI four four-year government and when it reached new heights with the ouster of Imran Khan and the installation of the PDM and later on caretaker parliament, at this momentous juncture, the Pakistani voters gave their verdict in the February 8 general elections. Over 60 million voters participated in the 12th […]
Read more ›Political Turmoil Rattles Pakistan’s Elections as Fears of Further Violence Mount
With results now in from Pakistan’s general election, where voting began last Thursday, many have been surprised by the strong showing of supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan. Pakistan’s general elections were plagued by terrorist violence and overshadowed by the absence of the country’s most popular politician, former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned and disqualified from […]
Read more ›Experts react: Imran Khan’s party outperformed expectations. What will this mean for Pakistan’s next government?
It was a shock to the system. Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was barred from formally running nominees under its own name, but PTI-aligned independent candidates nonetheless massively outperformed expectations in national elections on February 8, leading in a plurality, but not a majority, of seats in the National Assembly. Independent candidates representing PTI, the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister […]
Read more ›Fazlur Rehman rejects Pakistan’s election results
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday rejected Pakistan’s election results saying they were “rigged”. The JUI-F, which suffered a huge defeat in the recent elections, has meanwhile called for nationwide protests against the alleged electoral manipulation by “anti-Islamic forces”. Fazl on Wednesday however called for Nawaz Sharif to join him on the opposition benches rather than form a government. […]
Read more ›Pakistan: The Triumph Of Ballets Over Bullets – OpEd
As polls closed following Pakistan’s parliamentary election on February 8, major media networks began election-night coverage with prominent TV anchors and pundits discussing voter turnout and the timeline for expected results. When it came time to offer his analysis, one of Pakistan’s most popular TV hosts, Hamid Mir, launched an unexpected tirade against the entire electoral process. He refused to […]
Read more ›Pakistan: Establishment Losing Authority – Analysis
At the time of writing, Pakistan’s political landscape is full of chaos. The General Election 2024 results have not only thrown up a hung National Assembly, but have done so after a pre-election scenario ‘fixed’ to produce a ‘selected’ and not elected, government, and an electoral process riddled with irregularities. The meme currently doing the rounds in Pakistan is that […]
Read more ›What’s Next After Pakistan’s Inconclusive Elections? – Analysis
Pakistan’s national elections on February 8 failed to produce a clear winner, triggering intense political jockeying among rival parties to form a coalition government. Candidates allied with jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan won the most seats — 93 out of the 265 available — in the National Assembly. But they were forced to run as independents after Khan’s Pakistan […]
Read more ›Pakistan Reports Killing of Two Top Islamic State Leaders
Pakistan confirmed Monday that separate counterterrorism raids near the Afghan border within the past week had killed two senior leaders of a regional Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K). Military officials identified the slain militant commanders as Surat Gul and Abdul Shakoor, also known as Abu Hamza. Both were targeted in intelligence-driven security operations in northwestern Khyber and […]
Read more ›Muttahida Jihad Council
Established In: November 1990; Key Members: Syed Salahuddin; Operational Area: Pakistan, India; Involved In: Armed Attacks, Assasinations, Bomb Attacks, Kidnapping; The Muttahida Jehad Council (MJC), a conglomerate of Pakistan-based Jehadi outfits, was formed in November 1990 to bring under a single platform all the outfits involved in the terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The MJC, for long an […]
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