Bring out the laddus: Celebs including Faysal Quraishi, Annie Khalid celebrate PTI's Punjab win

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) saw a landslide victory in Punjab by-elections on Sunday, clinching 15 provincial assembly seats out of the 20 up for grabs and dealing a stunning blow to the 13-party alliance led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on its home turf. Despite the win, the party Chairman, Imran Khan, reiterated that “fair polls” were the only way forward, as he called the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) “totally biased”.

PTI’s resounding victory not only shook the ruling alliance but also dented its hopes of completing the remaining constitutional tenure in the Centre. According to unofficial and preliminary results, PML-N could only bag four seats, including Malik Asad Ali Khokhar and Fida Hussain from PP-168 Lahore and PP-237 Bhawalnagar, respectively.

And as news of the by-elections surfaced, celebrities, many of whom had previously been rallying for Imran Khan since his ouster, took to social media to celebrate his victory. “Elated to start my day in Naya Punjab! #PunjabKaptaanKa,” tweeted Elan founder Khadija Shah. Music producer Rohail Hyatt, in response to a tweet by Khan, commented, “Your steadfast persistence has been instrumental in this election victory Imran Khan. I pray a united Pakistan is in the making. Together we stand, divided we fall.”

Singer Annie Khalid shared a photo of herself holding a box filled with mithai (traditional sweets), to tweet, “Celebrating the Grand victory in Punjab right here in London with my family, with some ladoos!” In another tweet, she added, “Congratulations my PTI family!”

Actor Shaan Shahid also joined the celebrations. “Imran Khan, the people have shown that they trust you for Pakistan. May the rise of Pakistan begin InshaAllah,” he wrote.

While singer and actor Khaled Anam posted on Insta, "And the ballot has spoken. Aye Aye PTI." In another post he shared a photo of Khan with the caption. "Bravo, viva la kaptaan (long live captain)."

Actor and host Faysal Quraishi also chimed in lauding "Awaam ka faisla (public's choice)." While Iffat Omar, who is a staunch critic of Khan and PTI, shared, "It's about the public and if the majority is with PTI then so be it."

Users on the micro-blogging site couldn’t contain their happiness either. “PTI did not win because there was no rigging. PTI won in spite of the rigging,” shared a tweep. 

Several others tweeted in a similar vein. 

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