Govt asserts neutrality, dismissing allegations

ISLAMABAD:

Denying allegations of state-sponsored rigging, caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ijaz on Friday asserted the government had maintained neutrality throughout the election process, adding the election results attested to the fact.

"Had the government acted with mala fide intent, the results would not have been as they are," Ijaz, who was flanked by Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, said during a press conference.

Ijaz expressed confidence in the decisions made for the betterment of the public. "We knew there would be criticism over the internet and mobile phone shutdown," acknowledged Ijaz, underlining the importance of prioritising human lives.

The interior minister, while discussing security challenges faced by the interim government during the general elections, stated on Friday that 56 incidents were reported on election day despite the suspension of mobile services. "The decision to shut down mobile services was made at a high-level security meeting."

He revealed that the "emergency decisions" were made due to the "martyrdom of 28 individuals" a day earlier to the elections. The mobile services were suspended because the terror attack was "not a suicide attack, but a device bomb attached to a motorcycle".

The minister highlighted the necessity of such measures for the protection of human lives, stating: "These actions were crucial for ensuring the safety of individuals." Furthermore, he reported that "there were 56 incidents on the day of the election, and there were intelligence reports of terrorist incidents taking place."

Eijaz said that "February 8 was a challenging day" as he referenced the terrorist incidents of February 7 in which 26 people were martyred. In light of the Qilla Saifullah incident, he said, "We decided to close mobile signals" in a high-level meeting.

He acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, saying, "It was not an easy decision to close mobile signals", justifying it as one taken to "secure lives".

Expressing pride in the security forces, he posed the question, "Shouldn't we be proud of our security forces?"
The minister stated, " 56 incidents occurred despite mobile signals being off, in which the Pakistan Army and police personnel were martyred." Additionally, he said, "As the sitting government we have to protect lives."

The caretaker minister paid tribute to the fallen security personnel, stating, "We salute the Pakistani forces' personnel who gave their lives yesterday." He concluded that "All institutions collaborated to conduct a peaceful election. We have many enemies who attacked us. The election result is in front of you. It is the voice of the nation."

"As per our commitment, the caretaker government conducted elections, and the process of receiving results is ongoing," stated Information Minister Murtaza Solangi.

Solangi said, "We the voters of Pakistan should choose the future ruler." He also underscored the overall "peaceful" nature of the election and the caretaker government's commitment to ensuring a tranquil electoral process.

Cellular services suspension

Pakistan witnessed a countrywide shutdown of internet and cellular phone services a day earlier during the polling process with the authorities attributing the move "to maintain law and order" in the wake of the violence that occurred a day earlier.

However, the suspension was denounced by Amnesty International, which described it as a “reckless attack on people’s rights”, as well as experts and political stakeholders, particularly the PTI, a political party that relied heavily on social media platforms for its electoral campaign.

"It has been decided to temporarily suspend mobile services across the country," an interior ministry spokesman said in a statement.

The spokesman added that “precious lives have been lost” in recent militant attacks in the country and "security measures are essential to maintain law and order situation and to deal with potential threats".