Our Correspondent
Gilgit
A day after unofficial results of the Gilgit-Baltistan election showed an unfavourable outcome for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), its chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari threatened to take an ‘extreme and difficult path’ if the alleged rigging was not reversed.
Bilawal accused the government of rigging the Gilgit-Baltistan elections 2020, vowing that he will “safeguard the right of the people’s vote” in the region.
In his fiery speech he said that the PPP candidates were pressurized to leave the party and join the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf but each and every one of them remained steadfast with the party except one
Lashing out at the federal government, the PPP chairman said that he will lead the party’s protest against “rigging” till the right of the vote was safeguarded.
“The PTI was not even prepared to contest the elections,” alleged Bilawal. “They did not even have a candidate for the post of chief minister [for Gilgit Baltistan].”
He said that polling wasn’t even held at all the polling stations of GBA-2 constituency, adding that at GBA-18, women were not allowed to cast their vote.
“We will not allow you to ensure one ‘favourite’ party wins elections,” said Bilawal, without going into detail as to whom he was referring to.
Meanwhile, supporters of Pakistan People’s Party on Monday took to the street against alleged rigging in general election of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.
The charged workers of the PPP staged a protest demonstration, burned tyres outside Returning Officer office and blocked the road for traffic.
The die-hard PPP supporters staged a sit-in on the highway at Yaseen in Ghazar district. There are reports that hundreds of PPP protesters are participating in the protest.
The PPP also staged a sit-in against alleged rigging in Gilgit Baltistan elections in front of the deputy commissioner’s office in Gilgit city. The PPP candidate, Jamil Ahmed was leading by 400 votes last night
in the final count but in the morning he was shown as trailing by 2 votes.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto also joined the protest and addressed the crowd gathered there.
He said that when the authorities witnessed the support for PPP by the people of GB from Siachen to Gilgit, they got worried. The election commission started supporting the illegal acts of the PTI ministers.
He said that so much so that the chief election commissioner went to Islamabad and held a press conference in Islamabad against opposition instead of stopping government ministers from illegal acts. Even the Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Gilgit.
Bilawal said that three seats were clearly snatched from the PPP but warned that no one will be allowed to do so. He said that PPP will continue its protest at every place where rigging has occurred. We will not allow the puppet, the selected and the selectors to steal the elections. The selectors knew that PTI does not exist in Gilgit Baltistan. Everyone knows that the people of GB are with the PPP.
“The people of GB snatched their rights from Dogra Raj and they will again snatch back their rights,” he said and added he is under pressure by the people and warned the powers to be, not to push him to the extent that he takes extreme measures. The PPP chairman asked people to continue their protest and if the seats which were snatched through rigging are not given to the people and the PPP then the protesters will go to Islamabad and he will lead that protest. He said that he is not going anywhere till the rights of the people are given to them.
