LAHORE: Pakistan’s main opposition party called on Sunday for a judicial investigation into what it said was rigging at an election this week that it lost.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan Movement for Justice, emerged as the largest single party in Wednesday’s vote, defeating the Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) party of jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
During the campaign, Sharif said the military had influenced the judiciary to deny him a second term. The military denied this. It has ruled Pakistan for about half the time since the country’s formation in 1947.
“We demand constitution of a judicial commission to probe incidents that took place on July 25,” senior party leader Khawaja Asif told reporters in Lahore. “We will issue a white paper on the election rigging and other incidents.”
“PML-N will not accept these elections as legitimate and we are ready to ... start movement along with other parties,” Mushahid Ullah Khan, a senior leader, told reporters.
PTI did better than expected to win 16.86 million votes and beat PML-N, which got nearly 13 million votes. PTI opened coalition talks with at least one smaller party and independent politicians on Saturday.
European Union observers were critical of the political climate in the run-up to the vote, saying that some parties had been disadvantaged. The United States voiced similar concerns.
“Pakistan witnessed the most disputed elections in the country’s history,” Ahsan Iqbal, a senior leader of PML-N and former interior minister, told reporters.
Sharif was taken to hospital in Islamabad on Sunday with a possible heart problem, said a government official and Sharif’s party.
Sharif and his daughter Maryam were arrested on July 13, minutes after they returned from Britain seeking to revitalize their flagging PML-N party ahead of a July 25 election.
An anti-corruption court sentenced him on July 6 to 10 years while his daughter and political heir was sentenced to seven years over the purchase of luxury flats in London in the 1990s.
They were moved to Adiala jail in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
“After initially refusing to be shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences ... Sharif agrees to be treated outside prison after consulting with his personal doctor,” said a PML-N tweet on Sunday night.
“Doctors at Adiala jail have observed changes in the ECG (electrocardiogram) of Nawaz Sharif,” Punjab Chief Minister Hasan Askari Rizvi told Reuters. An ECG checks the heart’s electrical activity.
“We cannot take any risk about Sharif’s health,” Rizvi said.
Pakistan opposition party calls for investigation of election ‘rigging’
Pakistan opposition party calls for investigation of election ‘rigging’
At Islamabad conference, Pakistan pitches agriculture as next frontier for Chinese investment
- Hundreds of Chinese and Pakistani firms attended the event focusing on fertilizers, seeds, smart farming and irrigation techniques
- PM Sharif urges Pakistani farmers, businesses and universities to engage with Chinese institutions and experts to modernize agriculture
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday pitched Pakistan’s agriculture sector as the next major frontier for Chinese investment, highlighting opportunities in agri-business, food processing and farming technologies.
The prime minister said this while addressing the Pakistan-China Agriculture Investment Conference, which brought together Chinese and Pakistani agriculturists, entrepreneurs, experts, academicians and government officials.
Hundreds of Chinese and Pakistani firms attended the event that focused on fertilizers, seed varieties, machinery, precision farming and smart irrigation systems, according to the organizers.
Sharif said China had never shied away from providing Pakistan with best possible expertise and technologies, and both sides had signed several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) at similar summits in Shandong and Beijing in last two years.
“I was very happy to express my satisfaction over the progress we are making in terms of converting these MOUs into agreements,” he said. “Today’s conference is a clear indication that Chinese business houses are more than willing to shake hands with Pakistani business houses.”
The conference was billed by Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research as a platform for deepening bilateral agricultural ties and supporting broader economic engagement between the two countries.
Sharif called on Pakistani farmers, agribusinesses and universities to actively engage with Chinese institutions and experts to modernize the agriculture sector, which accounts for 24 percent of Pakistan’s GDP and employs over 37 percent of its labor force.
“Chinese experts are there to assist us and support us all the way to achieve this wonderful target [of becoming a surplus agricultural economy],” he said. “Now it’s up to us to generate this trade surplus through higher yields, comparative cost and, of course, highest quality.”
Pakistan and China have been expanding cooperation in agriculture under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework, with a focus on mechanization, high-yield seeds, livestock development and value-added food processing.
Officials say stronger agricultural ties could help Pakistan boost exports, ensure food security and create jobs, while offering Chinese companies access to a large farming market and new investment opportunities.
The prime minister noted that Pakistan’s policy rate was down to 10.5 percent down from 22 percent two years ago, exports were gradually increasing and macroeconomic indicators were stable.
“Now we have to move toward growth,” he said. “But then it requires solid, hard work, untiring efforts, blood and sweat. Without that, you will not be able to achieve your targets.”
The Pakistan-China Agriculture Investment Conference focused on technology transfer and joint ventures in farming, food processing and agricultural research.
“I would urge upon Pakistani farmers, Pakistani agri-houses, experts, professors, technicians, that please come forward and show your best to your [Chinese] brothers and sisters,” Sharif said.
“China is ready, ladies and gentlemen, to support Pakistan like always in the past. Let us make use of this opportunity. Let us stand up and accept this challenge and make Pakistan great through untiring efforts, through hard work.”
