Pakistan: Punjab’s crucial by-election ends amid accusations

Islamabad: Polling in the 20 constituencies of the Punjab Assembly concluded on Sunday peacefully though there were reports of isolated incidents of violence and skirmishes.

The by-election to these seats was announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Members of the Punjab Assembly were de-seated by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for voting against party lines.

They had cast their vote for the office of Chief Minister in favour of the current Chief Minister and son of Prime Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in a statement said the voter turnout in the by-election had crossed 40 per cent which was “unprecedented” in any by-polls.

According to him, polling went smoothly though there were minor clashes reported at 14 polling stations out of a total 3,140.

Make or break contest

The PML-N is currently in power in the Centre as well as Punjab, however, for both the PTI and the PML-N these are ‘make or break’ by-elections and would be crucial in forming government in the Punjab.

Both the parties are vying for maximum number of seats though the PML-N needs around 10 to stay in power while the PTI needs 12 to 13 seats to throw the Chief Minister out of power and form the government.

Earlier, the PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan led a heated and hectic election campaign and so did the PML-N leader and daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz for their respective candidates.

Imran Khan, however, built a narrative of the ‘US-led conspiracy’ behind his ouster from power earlier this year and termed the current regime was in fact an ‘imported government’ made at the behest of the US.

He warned the Shehbaz Sharif government might compromise the country’s integrity and security if he was allowed to continue in office. He even went to the extent of alleging that the ECP had also become a party with the PML-N conspiring in his party’s defeat.

Imran following Machiavelli: Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the other hand, called upon the public to reject Imran Khan’s narrative saying, he was “rewriting Machiavellian principles of politics in his lust for power”.

In a tweet, the premier said in his speeches Imran Khan showed how unfit he was to hold public office.

He added that under Imran Khan’s “direct supervision”, the PTI has “run a sordid campaign to defame national institutions and thus undermine Pakistan.”

Maryam Nawaz tests positive for COVID-19

On the last of the election campaign, July 15, the PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz after addressing a big public rally in Multan took to twitter and announced she and her husband Capt (R) Muhammad Safdar had tested positive for COVID-19.

However, she said though she was in quarantine and suffering from fever yet she was quite alert and vigilant keeping eye on the election results.

SC rejects ‘imported govt’ narrative

Imran Khan’s narrative, however, received a heavy blow when the Supreme Court in a detailed judgment rejected his ‘conspiracy’ theory saying no evidence of external conspiracy was produced before the court.

The Shehbaz Sharif government after the Supreme Court’s July 14 detailed judgment has hinted at initiating a treason case against Imran Khan and the top leadership of his party for ‘subverting’ the constitution of the country.