ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday called on the Commonwealth Observer Group to officially release its report on the February 8, 2024 general elections, describing them as a “mega poll robbery” that exposed systemic rigging, institutional bias, and deliberate targeting of PTI and its founder, Imran Khan.
In a statement issued on Sunday, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the leaked contents of the report validated PTI’s longstanding concerns about widespread pre- and post-poll manipulation.
He noted that the report highlighted key irregularities, including the Election Commission’s decision to strip PTI of its iconic “bat” symbol and the timing of multiple convictions against Imran Khan, effectively excluding him from the election process and denying the public a fair political choice.
“The report confirms how the system was used to engineer the election outcome,” Akram said.
“It is now evident that the courts reversed Nawaz Sharif’s lifetime disqualification just before the nomination period, facilitating his return while blocking PTI’s participation — a clear case of selective legal leniency.”
Akram alleged that the ruling regime attempted to suppress the report, but the leaked findings revealed the extent to which the elections were manipulated. He cited the report’s claims of judicial pressure by intelligence agencies, including alleged abduction of a judge’s family member and surveillance of judges presiding over election-related cases.
He also pointed to discrepancies in Form 45, with significant mismatches between polling station results and final tallies. Forms 46 and 47 were allegedly altered in favor of rival parties. The report also detailed a campaign of mass arrests, office raids, enforced disappearances of PTI leaders, internet shutdowns during campaign periods, police interference in nomination filings, and selective enforcement of election rules — all of which disproportionately targeted PTI, while other parties were allowed to campaign freely.
Commenting on the deteriorating security situation, Akram criticized the government’s “confused, myopic and flawed” counter-terrorism strategy amid a resurgence of terrorism, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.
He said that while thousands were displaced during over 21 military operations in previous years, no meaningful rehabilitation, compensation, or long-term peace was delivered. He reminded the government of its commitments under the National Action Plan (NAP) to provide KP with financial support for education, healthcare, and employment after the FATA merger — promises he said were never fulfilled.
He also slammed the recent move to shift the Federal Constabulary (FC) headquarters from Peshawar to Islamabad, calling it a dangerous politicisation of national security institutions. Originally intended for border security, the FC was now being reoriented to suppress political dissent, he alleged.
“If this was truly a national security measure, then the government should also rename and relocate the Rangers to Islamabad,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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