———- JI Emir Liaqat Baloch says PTI had formed a coalition with another party at the federal level
———- JI, PTI talk about govt formation in both Province, Centre
———- “No reason to form alliance in KP only,” says Liaqat Baloch
———- PTI says JI didn’t have representation in Provincial Assembly
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Jamat-e-Islami (JI) on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of forging an alliance with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose independent candidates are leading with the higher number of seats in the February 8 general elections, to form a government in the centre.
JI’s Central Naib Amir Liaqat Baloch, while speaking to media, said that his party has decided that it would not join hands with the PTI as it had formed a coalition with another party at the federal level.
“There is no reason for us to form an alliance with PTI only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Baloch, adding that talks with PTI were related to both governments — federal and provincial.
On the other hand, PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that there was no use in forming an alliance with JI as the party did not have any representation in the provincial assembly.
Speaking to media, Saif said that the PTI had been holding talks with JI only on a provincial level. He added that his party was looking into the legal procedures regarding the formation of government.
PTI’s leadership appears conflicted about their views on talks with other political parties on forming a government in Islamabad as Khan brushed off any possibility of talks with other political parties while party leader Ali Muhammad Khan is in favour of negotiations. Emphasising the prospects of a possible working relationship with the parties, the politician said PTI can talk to all parties to solve the country’s problems.
Besides, PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra has claimed that “unprecedented rigging” took place in the Feb 8 polls. “Specifically in Peshawar, I keep on saying that that the blatant falsification of results on 8 seats has been done in a way that cannot be hidden,” he wrote in a post on X.
Jhagra also expressed surprise that JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman and ANP’s Aimal Wali would “vouch for the rigging done on my seat”.
The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has said that the highest voter turnout in Pakistan’s 12th general election was from Tharparkar in Sindh while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan saw the lowest number of voters.
According to a report, 60.6 million voters exercised their right to vote on February 8. “Nearly 5.8 million more people voted in GE-2024 as compared to 2018 when 54.8 million had cast their votes,” Fafen said.
The report added that despite an increase in voters, the turnout dipped from 52.1 per cent in 2018 to 47.6pc in 2024, primarily due to an increase in the number of registered voters from 106 million in 2018 to 128.6 million in 2024.
“In addition, harsh winter in parts of the country, fears of violence and terrorism in KP and Balochistan as well as uncertainty about the conduct of elections may have also adversely affected the turnout,” it added.
The Fafen report is based on the analysis of Form 47 of the 264 National Assembly constituencies published on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website.
