PTI decries Sialkot by-polls as rigged

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub and NA former speaker Asad Qaiser have criticized the ruling party for stealing a by-election held in the Sambrial area of Sialkot on Sunday in "broad daylight".

Addressing the media at the Parliament House on Monday, the PTI leaders claimed that the "overwhelming victory" of the PTI was a proof of the unshaken public support it enjoyed. Despite full federal and provincial backing, PML-N failed to win the seat, clearly reflecting their waning popularity, they added.

On Sunday, PML-N's Hina Arshad Warraich remained far ahead of the other candidates by securing 78,702 votes at PP-52 Sialkot by-elections, according to unofficial and incomplete results.

Both the PTI and the PPP later accused the PML-N of using coercive tactics to secure the victory.

Talking with reference to the by-elections, Omar said if the PML-N had truly been in a winning position, there would have been no need for the returning officers (ROs) to flee with ballot boxes.

He congratulated PTI Punjab's leadership and voters for their "courageous stand".

He denounced the "shameful events" in Sambrial, highlighting incidents of ballot boxes allegedly being stolen in broad daylight and policemen caught stamping ballots. Omar claimed that polling agents were denied access to polling stations and RO offices were sealed with containers.

Separately, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar and PTI Secretary General Barrister Salman Akram Raja held a joint press conference in Lahore in which they alleged that PTI polling agents were forcibly removed from several polling stations during the Sialkot by-polls.

"This election was not just an attack on the voters of Sambrial; it was an assault on the integrity of Pakistan's democratic process," Raja said. "The relationship between the people and the state, as established by our Constitution, has been broken—first on February 8, 2024 and now again."