ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s local news channels claimed Saturday the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party was winning a closely watched electoral contest for a National Assembly seat in Punjab that fell vacant after the death of an opposition lawmaker Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah last year.
Tens of thousands of people voted to elect their new representative in a re-election held earlier in the day for the NA-75 seat from Daska, a small town in Sialkot district.
The country’s election authorities held a by-poll in the area last February, but later declared the contest null and void due to widespread irregularities that the PML-N blamed on the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The Election Commission of Pakistan suspected back in February that the results of 20 polling stations had been falsified.
Saturday’s electoral contest was largely believed to be between PML-N candidate Nosheen Iftikhar and PTI ticket holder Ali Asjad Malhi, though there were other politicians who also participated in it.
Pakistani election authorities informed a local news channel earlier in the day they had tried to provide a free and fair environment to hold a transparent election.
“Rangers are on patrol duty, ensuring the transportation of election staff and material, while army troops have been stationed in Daska Stadium and will be available on call,” Dawn newspaper reported. “To make the conduct of the re-poll transparent, CCTV cameras have been installed at 47 sensitive polling stations, out of a total 360.”
Major opposition party leads in re-election in Pakistani town of Daska
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Major opposition party leads in re-election in Pakistani town of Daska
- Local news channels claim the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is winning the contest in Punjab's NA-75 constituency
- The Election Commission of Pakistan held a by-poll in the area last February but later declared it null and void
Pakistan telecom regulator urges restraint on social media amid regional tensions
- PTA warns against sharing unverified content, says legal action may follow ‘fake news’
- Advisory comes as Pakistan strikes targets in Afghanistan and Iran faces US, Israeli attacks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecom regulator on Saturday urged citizens to avoid sharing “unverified or inflammatory” content online, warning that legal action could be taken against those spreading misinformation amid what it described as a “sensitive national situation.”
The advisory from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) comes as Islamabad says it is targeting militant positions inside Afghanistan following a recent flareup between the two neighbors, while Iran is under attack by the United States and Israel in an escalating regional conflict that has heightened security concerns across South and West Asia.
“In view of the prevailing sensitive national situation, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) urges all citizens to be responsible while using social media and digital platforms,” the regulator said in a statement posted on X.
The PTA advised citizens “not to share, disseminate, forward, or upload any unverified, inflammatory, or misleading information/content that may directly or indirectly harm the national interest, public order, or state institutions.”
It said people should instead rely on authentic information based on official sources and refrain from spreading rumors and “fake news.”
“Sharing any fake news/information is liable to legal action in accordance with applicable laws,” the authority said, calling on citizens to act with “caution, maturity, and a strong sense of national responsibility” to help maintain stability and public confidence.
Pakistan in recent years has witnessed increasingly stringent implementation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), a cybercrime law that has drawn criticism from rights groups, with journalists and activists arrested and prosecuted under its provisions.
