ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top election official batted away allegations of ballot-rigging Thursday, defending an ongoing delay in the formal vote count as a technical issue.
The incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party flat out rejected the pending results of Wednesday’s election, citing “outright rigging” and accusing officials of preventing its representatives from overseeing the count.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) denied the claims, saying a new electronic results system suffered unexpected glitches.
Despite the technical issues, “these elections were 100 percent fair and transparent,” said Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Muhammad Raza on Thursday, in his first comments after polls closed.
Raza did not say when election authorities would be in a position to announce the results.
The comments reflected similar remarks by the ECP’s secretary hours earlier.
The PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif — brother of jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif — alleged “massive rigging” in the election that “will cause irreparable damage to the country.”
As election workers poured over mounds of paper ballots, other major parties — including the Pakistan Peoples Party — joined the fray, alleging the count was being manipulated.
The controversy follows a bitter campaign season marred by allegations of interference from the country’s powerful military, with former cricket star Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) accused of being the beneficiary.
The election was largely seen as a head-to-head clash between the PTI and the PML-N, with election analysts saying the contest was still too close to call.
The PML-N claims it has been the target of the alleged military machinations. Its former leader Nawaz was ousted from power last year and jailed over a corruption conviction days before the vote, removing Khan’s most dangerous rival.
The military denies the allegations.
Pakistan election body rejects ‘rigging’ accusations
Pakistan election body rejects ‘rigging’ accusations
- Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said new electronic results system suffered unexpected glitches
- Chief Election Commissioner did not say when election authorities would be in a position to announce the results
Pakistan’s deputy PM visits Saudi Arabia for OIC meeting on West Bank
- The session will review Israel’s land registration move in occupied territory
- Dar will present Pakistan’s stance on Israel’s settlements, annexation plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar embarked on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where he is scheduled to attend an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah to discuss Israel’s recent measures in the occupied West Bank.
Israel decided this month to approve land registration procedures in parts of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, drawing sharp criticism from Muslim nations along with several European countries, which described it as a move to ease the path for settlement expansion and annexation.
These countries urged Israel in a joint statement to reverse its decision and end settler violence against Palestinian residents in the West Bank.
“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar60 has departed Islamabad for Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC) Executive Committee in Jeddah (26–28 February 2026),” the foreign office said in a social media post on X.
“He will hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC Member States,” it continued. “During the visit, he will also undertake brief visits to the Holy Cities.”
https://x.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/2026920463377830237?s=20
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, alongside nearly three million Palestinians.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
Addressing a weekly media briefing during the day, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the OIC conference would review Israel’s attempt to impose its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
“In the ministerial session of this OIC event, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on this latest illegal measure by Israel to convert areas of the occupied West Bank into the so-called state land,” he added.
