-Bilawal says will retake stolen GB seats
-History of 2018 polls was repeated, says Fazal
-FM terms GB polls transparent, fair
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Speaking at a protest against alleged rigging in the Gilgit Baltistan election, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari vowed to stay put in the region until he succeeds in retaking what he dubbed stolen seats.
“We will retake stolen seats or else head to Islamabad,” he said, addressing the protesters outside the GB election commission office. “We are political people. We too get overzealous under pressure. Don’t compel us to take extreme step. Don’t push us to the point of no return,” he thundered.
“Accept the GB people’s mandate or else you and I won’t be able to handle consequences,” the young PPP leader warned, adding the entire country knows who the people of GB stand by.
Earlier Monday, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in his tweet said: “My election has been stolen. I will be joining the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in their protest shortly.”
On the other hand, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl group chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman has also rejected the results of the Gilgit-Baltistan elections.
He accused that the history of 2018 general elections was repeated in GB and vowed to take the matter in the next meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – an alliance of the opposition parties.
We will make a future course of strategy on GB election results in the PDM meeting.
Earlier in the day, spokesperson Gilgit-Baltistan government Faizullah Firaq had rejected rigging allegations leveled by the former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Gilgit-Baltistan general elections.
Unofficial results showed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took lead in Gilgit-Baltistan election 2020 by grabbing victory in 10 constituencies followed by seven seats won by independent candidates out of 23 seats of the region’s Legislative Assembly.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) managed to win three seats, PML-N bagged two seats, while Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimen (MWM) won one seat.
Meanwhile, turning down the opposition’s allegations, Foreign Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed the recent polls in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) fair and transparent. Talking to journalists, FM Qureshi said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government has laid the foundation for credible and transparent polls in Gilgit-Baltistan.
He said that the people of GB rejected the narrative of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the elections. The foreign minister praised the people for casting their votes despite heavy snowfall in the area.
Responding to a question, the foreign minister said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was peddling the narrative of the country’s enemies. He said that the PDM wanted to create anarchy in the country.
