Pakistan parliamentary election 2024: Army chief congratulates country on ‘successful conduct’ of polls

financialexpress.com:

The army chief of Pakistan congratulated the country on Saturday for successful conduct of its national polls. He said that Pakistan needed stable hands to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation.

According to a statement released by the media wing of the military, Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir “wishes that these elections bring in political and economic stability and prove to be the harbinger of peace and prosperity for our beloved Pakistan”.

On Thursday, Pakistan voted in a general poll that remains undecided. The country struggles to heal from economic problems and battles militant violence in a deeply polarised political atmosphere.

On Friday, two ex-prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, both declared victory. Sharif declared his party had emerged as the largest and would speak to other groups to form a coalition government.

Khan released an audio-visual message created with artificial intelligence rather than having a statement read out by his lawyers, as is usually the case. Khan is in jail. On social media platform X, he rejected Nawaz Sharif’s claim to victory. Khan called on his followers to celebrate what he called a win achieved despite a crackdown on his Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

Interestingly, independent candidates backed by Imran Khan won the largest share in Parliament. This happened despite Khan’s confinement for convictions on charges ranging from leaking state secrets to corruption to an unlawful wedding. Khan’s party was barred from the elections.

Britain, the USA, and the European Union (EU) expressed concerns about the electoral process in Pakistan. These countries are urging an investigation into reported irregularities.