PTI calls 2024 'darkest year' in political history

Reiterates allegations of electoral rigging, theft of mandate

KARACHI:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh chapter has described 2024 as one of the darkest year in Pakistan's political history.

In a press statement issued at the year's end on Tuesday, PTI Sindh spokesperson Muhammad Ali Baloch alleged that the 2024 general elections were marred by widespread rigging, with public mandate stolen through the tampering of Form-47.

The PTI spox claimed that the current government was formed based on a fabricated mandate, which marked a year of political oppression. PTI's founding chairman, leaders, and workers, he added, endured relentless persecution throughout the year.

Baloch accused the government of protecting corrupt politicians by dropping court cases against them and enabling the loot of public funds. He lamented the deliberate sidelining of PTI in 2024, a year he referred to as a dark chapter for freedom of expression. Social media platforms and the internet, he said, faced frequent bans, while peaceful protesters were subjected to fabricated charges and violent crackdowns.

The PTI spox also criticised the back-breaking inflation, alleging that the government manipulated statistics to hide the true extent of economic hardships. He condemned the reliance on foreign loans, which he claimed had raised the debt burden to over Rs300,000 per citizen.

Baloch described the controversial 26th constitutional amendment as a direct assault on the 1973 Constitution, undermining the judiciary and democracy.