PoK 'PM' says Imran Khan rigged elections in the region; vows to expose PTI govt

After the Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) was declared victorious in the recently conducted 11th general elections for the legislative assembly in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, the Prime Minister of PoK came forward to level accusations against his counterpart in Pakistan. Addressing the media, Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan accused Imran Khan of election fraud. He asserted that the votes that are being shown as those of Imran Khan, are actually that of 'coercion, bribery, and fraud'. 

"I will run a movement across the nation and unveil the true face of the Imran Khan government before the Kashmiris, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo said. 

Protest in PoK; people demand 'Azadi' from the Pakistan government 

Earlier in the day, citizens of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) raised slogans demanding 'Azadi' from the Pakistan government after the results of the recently-held polls in the region were announced. In the video shared by PML-N's Maryam Nawaz Sharif, PoK citizens can be heard sloganeering against the newly-elected PTI government in the region demanding 'Azadi' from them.

"Today, on the first day of the PTI's fake victory, for the first time in Azad Kashmir, the slogan of "Independent Kashmir" was raised. When you rob people's votes, oppress them, such incidents arise," said Maryam Nawaz on her Twitter handle. 

The incident was reported after poll results were declared. Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) won 25 seats while Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) came second with 11 seats and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured just six seats, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported, citing unofficial results announced by the Election Commission.

Several parties such as Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) have claimed that the process was 'rigged'. 

Elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

On Sunday, the Pakistan government conducted voting for 45 out of 53 assembly seats in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. PTI had nominated candidates for all the 45 constituencies, while PML-N and PPP each issued tickets to candidates for 44 seats. Two other parties including All J&K Muslim Conference and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have given tickets for 42 and 40 constituencies respectively. 

During the electoral process, clashes were reported in numerous polling stations. In the clashes, two people lost their lives. Police confirmed the news, and said, "Two PTI workers were shot dead by unidentified persons at a polling booth under Naarr police station area in Charhoi, Kotli." They were identified as Zaheer Ahmed, 40, and Ramzan, 50, by Pakistan Police. Around 12 others were injured in the violence that broke out during the elections.