ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Pakistani premier Imran Khan urged his supporters on Wednesday to wait outside polling booths after casting their votes, as rival political parties held large rallies to mark the end of the election campaign period.
Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday with the jailing of popular Khan, the winner of the last national election, dominating headlines despite an economic crisis and other woes threatening the nuclear-armed country.
Any large-scale gathering of Khan’s supporters near booths could raise tensions because of what they call a military-backed crackdown on him and his party that has restricted campaigning. The military denies interfering in politics.
“Encourage the maximum number of people to vote, wait at the polling station...and then stay peacefully outside the Returning Officer’s office until the final results are announced,” said Khan via his handle on social media platform X, accompanied by an undated photograph depicting him wearing simple black clothing.
The origin of the image, the first of Khan in months, was not clear. Previously Khan’s supporters have disseminated his messages, including through AI-generated audio speeches, from notes he has passed on through his lawyers during prison visits.
Other political parties wrapped up their campaigns late on Tuesday ahead of the quiet period mandated by Pakistani electoral rules that prevent political campaigning the day before the election.
Electoral frontrunner Nawaz Sharif led a huge rally in the eastern city of Kasur, with his brother, former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is running in that constituency.
Amidst a sea of tens of thousands of supporters waving green party flags, Sharif called on the country’s huge youth population to support his party and took aim at Khan who has previously attracted support from young voters in the area.
“Don’t fall for him,” Sharif said.
Supporters of the rival Pakistan People’s Party also gathered in the southern city of Larkana led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who could play king-maker if no one party receives enough parliamentary seats to form a government outright.
The former foreign minister and son of assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto criticized opponents, including Sharif, for what he described as compromising the country’s security and economy during their tenures.
From jail, Pakistan’s Imran Khan asks supporters to wait by poll stations after vote
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From jail, Pakistan’s Imran Khan asks supporters to wait by poll stations after vote
- Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday with ex-PM Khan’s jailing dominating headlines despite country’s economic, security challenges
- Any large-scale gathering of Khan supporters near booths could raise tensions because of alleged military-led crackdown against his party
At OIC meeting, Pakistan calls on world to halt Israel’s annexation of West Bank
- Israel this month decided to approve land registration procedures in parts of the West Bank for the first time since 1967
- FM Ishaq Dar demands end to Palestinian displacement, reconstruction of Gaza, pathway to independent Palestinian state
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday called on the international community to stop Israel from annexing the occupied West Bank, demanding a “political pathway” toward an independent Palestinian state.
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.
Speaking at an extraordinary ministerial session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the development carries profound implications not only for the Palestinian people but also for the credibility of international law, United Nations charter and the integrity of the multilateral system.
“Israel continues with impunity to expand illegal settlements and enforce de facto annexation in the Occupied West Bank. These actions, flagrantly violate international law including UN Charter, UN Security Council Resolution 2803 [endorsing President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza], undermine all diplomatic efforts and threaten the very foundation of a just and lasting peace,” Dar said.
“These violations embolden further aggression, erode regional stability and trample on the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people. The international community must decisively act and act now to halt these violations, uphold international law and ensure delivery of the assurances made in good faith to the group of eight Arab-Islamic countries, including Pakistan.”
The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA). More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, alongside nearly three million Palestinians.
Dar recalled that leaders and the foreign ministers of the group of eight Arab-Islamic countries, including Pakistan, engaged with United States President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 25 to help end the bloodshed in Gaza, ensure unimpeded humanitarian access, secure a permanent and sustainable ceasefire and advance a comprehensive peace process for the Palestinian brothers and sisters.
“During these consultations, we, the group of eight, ensured that the non-annexation of the Occupied West Bank remained firmly on the agenda and assurances were given to us in New York that the annexation of West Bank would not take place,” he said.
“In view of the serious gravity of the situation, we need to collectively ensure, first, an immediate reversal of all Israeli measures aimed at de-facto annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including West Bank, which constitutes a red line for any just resolution of the issue of Palestine.”
Pakistan is among the Group of Eight Arab Islamic countries, which also includes Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Egypt and Türkiye. Islamabad does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and maintains a firm policy of non-recognition, rooted in its support for an independent Palestinian state in the Middle East with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Speaking at the meeting, Dar called for an immediate end to all “forms of displacement, democratic manipulation and collective punishment” of the Palestinians, a ceasefire in and reconstruction of Gaza as well as “a credible, irreversible and time-bound political horizon” leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
