ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday mocked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s claims of rigging in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, accusing his party of being hand in glove with PML-N and beneficiaries of the “theft” of the 2024 mandate.
In a statement, PTI alleged that both the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came into power by stealing PTI’s mandate, and said Bilawal’s outcry over rigging in the AJK elections was nothing but an attempt to portray himself as a victim and mislead the public.
The party said the PPP and PML-N were “two sides of the same coin”, describing Bilawal’s criticism of the rigging in the second phase of AJK polls as “political theatre” intended to mislead the masses.
The statement from the PTI came after Bilawal accused PML-N of massive rigging in the second phase of AJK elections.
PTI alleged that both parties continued to safeguard the political order established after the 2024 general elections, adding that no political manoeuvring or blame-shifting could erase what millions of Pakistanis had witnessed before, during and after the polls.
PTI maintained that the democracy cannot flourish where the will of the people is suppressed through coercion and manipulation.
The party also called for the immediate release of former prime minister Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and other party leaders, saying their continued detention undermined democratic values, political stability and national reconciliation.
PTI said meaningful political dialogue could only begin once what it described as politically motivated prosecutions and detentions were brought to an end.
It also urged the federal government to cut what it called extravagant spending, unnecessary privileges and excessive expenditures enjoyed by the ruling elite, saying public resources should instead be directed towards ordinary citizens.
The party demanded the release of development funds for neglected areas, particularly Balochistan and the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, arguing that sustainable peace depended on economic opportunities, education, healthcare, infrastructure development and jobs for young people.
PTI said Pakistan’s future lay in strengthening democratic institutions, ensuring transparent elections, restoring the public mandate, adopting professional security policies against terrorism and investing in underdeveloped regions.
“Only then can Pakistan move towards lasting stability, prosperity and national unity,” the party concluded.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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