ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan election results witnessed a delay, thousands of Pakistanis turned to social media platforms late Thursday and lit them up with hundreds of memes, taking jibes at political figures and highlighting ground realities in their own fun way.
Pakistan headed to the polls on Thursday as it suffered from overlapping political, economic and security crises. But despite the odds stacked against them, Pakistanis are known for churning out hilarious memes every time a seismic political or sporting event happens.
Elections 2024 were certainly a big deal, especially for millions of young voters in the country. And one look at X tells you they didn’t disappoint.
This meme hilariously poked fun at Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the leader of one of Pakistan’s major political parties vying for the prime minister’s office. Bhutto-Zardari’s party is contesting polls from Lahore, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s most prosperous Punjab province.
A Twitter user here points out how Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, which is a part of the southern Sindh province where Bhutto-Zardari’s party has ruled since 2008, would transform if the Bhutto scion won the electoral contest from here.
In a strange reversal of fortunes, former prime minister Imran Khan is in jail during this election while his chief rival, Nawaz Sharif, is gunning for Pakistan’s top political office. Here is a meme in which Khan can be seen in jail, visibly irked while a pro-Sharif anthem blares from a speaker.
Another hilarious meme takes a dig at both Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Ataullah Tarar, who locked horns in Lahore’s NA-127 constituency. According to this memer, no one walks away with a win when the dust settles.
With Khan in jail and most of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leaders in either behind bars or on the run, one X user tried to capture the inner feelings of PTI supporters on the election day.
It’s important to vote, but more importantly, not to mess up your vote, this social media user explained.
Jokes apart, independent candidates and Pakistan’s main political parties were locked in a neck and neck contest against each other early Friday.
And a clear picture of who will win the elections was expected to emerge later in the day after the counting of votes concludes in all constituencies.
