KARACHI: Most of the main political parties in Pakistan have expressed serious concerns over the conduct of the general elections and the delay in the announcement of the results. Several party leaders said that they plan to call an All Parties Conference (APC) to discuss allegations of rigging and decide on a joint course of action.
Election Commission of Pakistan secretary Babar Yaqoob said on Thursday, the day after the election, that the delay was caused by technical failures in an electronic system that transmits results, and the counting was now being conducted manually. He added that full results would be released as soon as possible but could not give a time frame.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appears to be in a commanding position in the center, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the coastal city of Karachi. Unofficial preliminary results suggest PTI has won or is ahead in about 120 national seats, 113 in the Punjab assembly, 18 in the Sindh assembly and 55 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. In Punjab, PTI is neck-and-neck with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and might emerge in a position to form a provincial government in a coalition with independents.
In Balochistan, where PTI looks to have won only three provincial assembly seats, the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and the Balochistan National Party (BNP) emerged as the largest parties.
In his victory speech on Thursday, Khan, the PTI leader and prime minister-in-waiting, rejected the widespread claims of poll rigging but added: “Anyone who has issues of rigging, we will facilitate and we will open up any constituency that you want for investigation. When we asked for probes, we were not facilitated but now we will do it differently.”
Khan, who won all five national assembly seats he was contesting, said he was happy with the outcome and urged all sides to unite for the good of Pakistan.
However, the delay in announcing the results, the poor performance of Khan’s rivals, and claims that polling agents of some political parties were thrown out of polling stations without the required election paperwork have angered many of PTI’s rivals, including outgoing ruling party PML-N, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), MMA, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Pak Sarzameen Party, the BNP and other small political groups.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who lost two out of three constituencies he contested, including his party’s political fortress of Lyari, condemned the delay in announcing the results.
“It’s now past midnight and I haven’t received official results from any constituency I am contesting myself,” he said, adding that polling agents for his party’s candidates “have been thrown out of polling stations across the country. Inexcusable and outrageous.”
PPP senators Mian Raza Rabbani and Sherry Rehman held a late night press conference during which they said there were serious question marks over the credibility of the election process.
MMA President Maulana Fazlur Rehman — who faced defeat in both of his national assembly seats, including his home constituency — said that ‘rigged results’ will not be accepted. He added that his alliance would call an APC on Friday.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who visited his brother, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Adiala prison on Thursday, before presiding over a party meeting in Lahore, said the credibility of the polling process was in question. He also said that he will call an APC to discuss the rigging allegations and decide on joint course of action.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan, the central spokesman for PML-N, said that although his party was not in favor of sit-ins it would not concede to PTI after “countrywide foul play.”
“The president of PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif, has decided to summon an all parties’ conference for a joint strategy against the shame election,” he confirmed.
Raza Haroon of the Pak Sarzameen Party said it did not receive a single result until Thursday evening.
“Our polling agents were pushed out of the polling stations without handing them form-45, which is a duty of the election commission,” Haroon said, adding that anything can happen to the votes if the polling agents are absent, even for just an hour. “And here, around 20 hours have passed and we haven’t received the results.”
Explaining the process, Haroon said polling agents are required to remain inside the polling station until form-45 is completed, signed and handed over. Form-45 is a document with the name of every candidate along with the number of votes they received, signed by the returning officers and polling staff.
“Not only this but presence of the polling agent is also mandatory at the time when the returning officer announces the results,” he said. “But we were nowhere. Why should we accept these results?”
Haroon, whose party will take part in the APC, said Imran Khan’s assurances of proper investigations will not help as what has been done cannot be undone.
Faisal Subzwari, a senior MQM leader said his party will demand a recount.
“Yes, it’s true that much can be done in the absence of polling agent but recounting will at least fix some of the problem,” he said, adding that his party will mount both legal and political challenges. “We will also mull over whether we should attend the APC. Our mandate has been stolen, first though pre-poll and now after-poll rigging.”
Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, president of the MMA Karachi chapter, alleged that the elections were massively rigged in favor of PTI. “If pre-poll rigging wasn’t enough to ensure the victory of PTI candidates, results were held up and later announced when these favored the PTI candidates.”
He said his party will not accept a mandate that has been stolen from other political parties.
Yaqoob, the Election Comission secretary, rejected the claims of rigging, saying the elections had been free and fair.
“Elections are delayed across the world but in Pakistan the losing parties always complain,” he said.
While PTI’s Imran Khan (NA-243) and prominent leaders including Dr. Arif Alvi (NA-247), Ali Zaidi (NA-244), Aamir Liaquat Hussain (NA-245) and Faisal Vawda (NA-249) won their seats in Karachi, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (NA-246), and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif (NA-249), lost their seats in the seaside city.
The most shocking result was in Lyari, a former PPP stronghold, in which PTI’s little-known Abdul Shakoor Shah won NA-246 while PPP chief Zardari could not even finish as a runner-up. Provincial assembly seats PS-107 and 108 were won by candidates for Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan and MMA respectively, ending PPP’s 40-year reign in Lyari.
Among the prominent political figures who could not win in their home constituencies were former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani, PTI’s Dr. Yasmeen Rashid, PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, Miftah Ismail, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Talal Chaudhry, and Abid Sher Ali, MMA President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haque, former minister Owais Leghari, Awami National Party’s Asfandyar Ali Khan, former interior minister of Balochistan Safraz Bugti, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, BAP’s Zubaida Jalal and Qaumi Wattan Party’s Aftab Sherpao.
Opposition mulls joint strategy after Imran’s PTI emerges as largest party
Opposition mulls joint strategy after Imran’s PTI emerges as largest party
- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerges as the largest party in the center, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Karachi, and is neck-and-neck with incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in Punjab, according to preliminary unofficial results
- PTI leader Imran Khan wins all four seats he contested, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari takes Larkana (NA-200) but suffers massive defeat in party strongholds Malakand and Lyari
Pakistan Cricket Board confirms details of national side’s South Africa tour
- The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia in Nov.
- The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced details of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s tour of South Africa for three Twenty20, three one-day international and two Test matches in the second half of 2024.
Durban, Centurion, and Johannesburg will host the T20Is from December 10-14, according to the PCB. The ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, while the two ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 matches will be held at Centurion (December 26-30) and Cape Town (January 3-7).
The side will depart for Durban on December 2 after returning from Australia on November 19, having featured in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4-18. After completing their African safari on January 8, Pakistan will take on New Zealand and South Africa in a three-nation ODI tournament on home turf, which will be followed by the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
“Prior to the tours of Australia and South Africa, Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for two and three Tests, respectively,” the PCB said in a statement. “This means they will play seven Tests, minimum of 10 ODIs, and six T20Is in the six-month period from August 2024 to January 2025.”
This will be Pakistan’s seventh Test tour of South Africa since 1994-95. Their two Test wins were in the 1997-98 and 2006-2007 series.
In the Durban Test in 1997-98, Pakistan won by 29 runs at the back of centuries from Azhar Mahmood (132) and Saeed Anwar (118), match figures of nine for 149 by Mushtaq Ahmed and a first innings five-fer by Shoaib Akhtar. In the 2006-2007 Port Elizabeth Test, Pakistan won by five wickets with Inzamam-ul-Haq being named as Player of the Match for his 92 in the first innings.
In ODIs, Pakistan has won two of the last three series in 2013-2014 and 2020-21, while South Africa triumphed in 2002-2003 (4-1), 2006-2007 (3-1), 2012-2013 (3-2), and 2018-2019 (3-2).
In 12 T20Is to date, Pakistan leads 6-5 in head-to-head encounters, with one match ending in no-result.
Tour schedule:
10 Dec – 1st T20I, Durban
13 Dec – 2nd T20I, Centurion
14 Dec – 3rd T20I, Johannesburg
17 Dec – 1st ODI, Paarl
19 Dec – 2nd ODI, Cape Town
22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg
26-30 Dec – 1st Test, Centurion
3-7 Jan – 2nd Test, Cape Town
Pakistani brothers inspire new volunteers after rescuing over 200 in UAE floods
- Affan and Suleiman Tanvir pulled families to safety during the cloudburst and provided them with food
- Their team has been rescuing tourists, adventure-seekers stranded in the desert over the past four years
ISLAMABAD: Since their move to the United Arab Emirates in 2008, Pakistani brothers Affan and Suleiman Tanvir have passionately devoted themselves to rescuing stranded travelers in different parts of the desert. But last month, their mission took an unexpected turn when the region experienced its heaviest rainfall in 75 years.
The brothers were suddenly thrust into a critical role, rescuing hundreds from waterlogged roads and submerged vehicles, as unprecedented floods transformed the streets into rivers. Alongside their team, they not only provided food and water but also pulled numerous cars to safety, navigating the chaotic aftermath of the storm in Dubai.
“We are proud of our work and glad to be recognized by the people for our rescue mission,” Affan told Arab News on Friday from Dubai over the phone. “We are honored and delighted to help people stranded on the roads during the torrential rains.”
Affan and his team rescued over 200 people and pulled out some 80 vehicles, including cars and minivans, during the rescue operation in Dubai and Sharjah that started in the morning on April 16 and continued for about two days.
Besides his brother Suleiman, the three other members of his rescue team included Alay Zaidi, Shahid Ibrahim Gul and Muhammad Owais.
Currently settled in Al-Hoshi in Sharjah, Affan brothers were born in Saudi Arabia while their parents belong to Karachi, Pakistan. In the UAE, they have set up a company for import and export of steel and transport.
The two brothers and their team were mentioned by several media houses for their heroic work, and the Pakistani consulate in Dubai acknowledged them by awarding certificates of appreciation.
“This rescue mission was not a new thing for us as we have been helping people stranded in the deserts for the last four years,” Affan said while narrating their extensive experience of saving people stuck in the desert terrain.
Affan said that they would receive frequent calls from adventure-seekers stuck in Ras Al-Khaimah desert for the rescue and relief as this was some 50-minute drive from their residence.
“We have a purpose-built vehicle along with all the accessories to pull out stuck cars, change their tires or toe them to main roads,” he said, adding that they had linked themselves to a local app, Rescue UAE, for people in need to get in touch with them.
“We use walkie-talkie to speak with the stranded people as there are no mobile phone signals in the desert,” he said, adding that they sometimes receive two or three rescue requests in a day from people stuck in the desert, especially during the winter season.
Talking about his team, he said that he started the rescue and relief work in 2020 along with his brother, but gradually his team started to grow with more people joining them.
“We are a 15-member team now and more people are joining us after getting inspired by our recent rescue work during the rains,” he added.
His team member Alay Zaidi told that two of their team members got shards in their feet during the rescue work, but they continued their mission to alleviate the sufferings of the families stuck on the roads along with children and women.
“It is a passion for us to help people in need, and we will continue doing our work with the same zeal and zest,” he continued. “We have received appreciation from the UAE people and officials for our work, and this is nothing less than a medal for us.”
Young Pakistani innovator dreams big with ‘self-driving’ car innovation
- Ehsan Zafar Abbasi belongs to a remote village in Abbottabad where he is known for his passion for science
- The 20-year-old drives his family car using computer keyboard, wants to set up automobile company like Tesla
ABBOTTABAD: Under the harsh glow of a fluorescent light, 20-year-old Ehsan Zafar Abbasi is busy examining the components of an obsolete printer he has just dismantled. A pre-engineering student from the remote village of Bagh in Pakistan’s Abbottabad district, he is known for his passion for taking electronics apart, often leading to innovative but sometimes unsuccessful repairs.
Abbasi recently captured the attention of his neighborhood by configuring his family car to mimic a self-driven vehicle. With the driver’s seat empty and the headrest removed, onlookers were captivated by the sight of an automobile that seemed to be driving itself.
Speaking to Arab News earlier this week, the young student said he first thought of driving a car through a keyboard while playing video games as a child.
“At that time, power supply was hardly ever available,” he recalled. “So, whenever we got electricity, it was another kind of happiness. We would immediately sit in front of the computer and play those games on CDs such as GTA: Vice City or Need for Speed.”
“So, I was inspired after playing those games, realizing if a car could be driven through a keyboard in a game, it could also be driven like that in real life,” he continued.
With limited Internet accessibility in his village, Abbasi understood the workings of electronics and mechanical items by conducting his own experiments in a tiny room under the stairs in his house.
“I have built a lab where I perform my experiments,” he said. “My brothers and uncles support my ambitions. They bring me scrap electronics from the second-hand market. I have dismantled many mobile phones, tablets, printers, scanners, computers, projectors, juicer machines and other things.”
After spending over seven months perfecting his new project, Abbasi said he wanted to further refine the car by adding more features to it.
“I want to add sensors and modern technology to the car so that people with disabilities can also fulfill their wish [to drive] and become independent,” he added.
However, the keyboard-driven vehicle is not his only invention.
“A year ago, I made another device for cars in which cellphone technology was integrated,” he said. “It had a SIM. If someone decided to steal your car, you could simply make a call on the [installed] device and your car stopped working.”
The vehicle’s brakes, he explained, could be activated by using one’s cellphone. Not only that, but the installed device also relayed any conversation among the carjackers in real-time.
Asked about his future ambitions, Abbasi said he wanted to build a multinational automotive company like Tesla in Pakistan. He also shared his desire to go to a top-notch university abroad like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
“Obviously, I cannot afford it, nor do I possess adequate English-language skills,” he continued. “I studied in ill-equipped public schools where we did not have electricity, Internet and other modern facilities. We used to walk for two hours to go to school and two hours on our way back.”
By the time he reached home, he felt tired and usually discovered that there was no electricity.
“I could not study the way I wanted to,” he said with a deep yearning in his eyes. “I request the Pakistani government, our prime minister and the president, to support me in getting quality higher education so I can add to the prestige of my country.”
England Women’s cricket coach using AI to pick team ahead of series with Pakistan
- Jon Lewis says technology worked in multi-format Women’s Ashes series against arch-rivals Australia
- Pakistan Women’s National Cricket Team will play Twenty20 and ODI series in England later this month
LONDON: England Women’s cricket coach Jon Lewis revealed Friday he is using artificial intelligence to aid team selection, saying the technology helped his side square last season’s Ashes.
Lewis first became familiar with the work of London-based PSi when he took charge of the UP Warriorz franchise in India’s Women’s Premier League.
Now the 48-year-old former England paceman uses the company to assist with his decisions about squad composition, team balance and in-game match-ups between players.
The system plots projected outcomes depending on the composition of each side.
“I can send multiple different line-ups to the PSi in London and they run, I think, about 250,000 simulations per team that I send, with all different permutations that could happen through the game,” he said.
We are able to run simulated teams versus the simulated opposition to give us an idea about how those teams may match up against each other.
“I came across it during my time at UP Warriorz and it’s something I looked at and thought it could add some value to the England Women’s cricket team.”
Lewis said he still favored a “people-first approach” but he added: “What data can do is give you a really objective view of what could happen and what has happened previously. I think it will help with borderline decisions in terms of selection and match-ups.”
Lewis, who has spoken to England’s rugby union coach Steve Borthwick about his own use of the PSi model, said the system had proved its worth as his side drew last season’s multi-format Women’s Ashes series against arch-rivals Australia.
“There was one selection particularly last year, one period of the Ashes that we targeted as a team,” said Lewis, speaking at the announcement of England’s squad for T20 and ODI series at home to Pakistan later this month.
“There were a couple of selections where AI really helped because both players I was thinking about picking were both in really good form and were both really selectable and it did help with those selections.
“We saw a real strength in Australia and we matched up our strength to that. That worked really, really well and it helped us win the T20 series in particular, which got us back in the Ashes.”
AI is becoming an increasing feature of top-level sport, with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach saying last month it could help identify talented athletes “in every corner of the world.”
He said AI could also provide more athletes with access to personalized training methods.
Pakistan launches special cybercrime unit under controversial PECA law, shifts role from FIA
- The agency will be led by director general with 15-year experience in digital forensics or public administration
- Pakistan’s information minister recently spoke against online harassment, emphasized upholding of digital rights
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established a new investigation unit under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, tasked solely with focusing on cybercrimes in the country, a role previously performed by a dedicated wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The PECA law was originally enacted to combat various forms of cybercrime, including cyber terrorism, unauthorized access, electronic fraud and online harassment, aiming to enhance the security of cyberspace for users and businesses.
However, the law stirred controversy, particularly because its provisions were seen by critics as tools that could potentially curb freedom of speech and suppress dissent.
These concerns were also validated by instances of journalists being booked under the law, with courts raising objections regarding its application.
“There shall hereby stand established the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to exercise jurisdiction under the Act and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) shall cease to perform functions as designated investigation agency under the Act,” said a notification taken out by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication on April 24 that referred to the PECA law.
“All personnel, cases, inquiries, investigations, assets, liabilities, rights, obligations, privileges and matters related thereto or connected therewith subsisting immediately before commencement of these rules in respect of the defunct cybercrime wing of the FIA shall stand transferred to the NCCIA,” it added.
The new investigation agency will be led by a director general who will be appointed by the government for two years.
The individual performing the role will have at least 15 years of experience “in the field of computer sciences, digital forensics, cyber technology, law, public administration, information technology, telecommunication or related fields enabling him to deal with offenses under the Act.”
The notification said the FIA’s “defunct” cybercrime wing would continue to operate until suitable appointments are made to run the new agency.
Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar announced only a day ago that the government was setting up a new authority to end online harassment and uphold the digital rights of the people.
