Islamabad, Feb 15 (PTI) Pakistan on Thursday said the recently held elections are its internal affair and asserted that any step that it takes is in conformity with its own constitutional obligations and not influenced by external advice.
Several countries, think tanks, international media organisations, and even the UN have called out the alleged irregularities during the polling day on February 8 and also described the outcome as rigged due to delay in announcing the complete results.
Due to the fractured mandate, Pakistan is yet to get a new government and staring at a possible coalition rule with the blessings of the powerful military establishment.
Responding to various media queries regarding the global reaction to last week’s election, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan is a democratic country and millions of voters participated in the general elections.
“Pakistan takes its constitutional obligations seriously and its people are entitled to enjoy their right to freedom and democracy,” she said at the weekly press briefing.
“Any step that Pakistan takes in this regard is in conformity with its own constitutional obligations and not influenced by external advice,” she asserted.
The spokesperson said that Pakistan welcomed foreign observers, including a group from the Commonwealth, demonstrating the country’s commitment to transparency in the electoral process.
She highlighted that the interim report of the Commonwealth observer group also highlighted the “transparency and participatory nature” of the general elections.
The mammoth electoral exercise was completed on time, with about 60.6 million voters casting their vote in the country’s 12th general elections. The process was peaceful but the mobile services were suspended on the day of elections, causing doubts about the process.
The announcement of election results was also delayed for a day, inviting severe criticism from the local parties that snowballed into international concerns about the fairness of the process.
The US and EU both raised concerns over alleged electoral interference, including the detention of political activists. They emphasised that all accusations of irregularities, manipulation, and fraudulent activities warrant comprehensive investigation.
Similar concerns were also expressed by British Foreign Minister David Cameron and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Separately, a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) highlighted that the contentious nature of these polls was unlikely to bring stability to the nation of over 240 million.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged authorities and political leaders in Pakistan to address the post-election situation through legal means, emphasising the need for a peaceful resolution.
However, the Commonwealth observer mission in its preliminary finding, barring some grey areas, termed the overall electoral process situation as satisfactory. PTI SH NPK AKJ NPK NPK
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