Political experts in Pakistan say that if the parliamentary elections were held last Thursday, in which candidates loyal to Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, would have won the most seats, it would have sent a message to the army and showed that the politics of the army are not acceptable to the common people. .
Although Imran Khan, the leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf Pakistan, will face many charges in prison, the main symbol of this party (Beit Karikat) was taken from this party in the elections and many of its leaders and senior members were arrested by the authorities. In the parliamentary elections on February 8, the candidates associated with the Tehreek-e-Insaf could win the majority of seats and defeat the Muslim League-Nawaz, which experts say has the support of Pakistan’s military.
According to the announced results, at least 100 candidates have won seats in the parliament, including 89 people loyal to Imran. Hizb Muslim League-Nawaz won 73 seats and Hizb Mardam Pakistan won 54 seats.
Although the Pakistani army has a lot of power and authority in the political affairs of this country, Pakistani experts believe that the results of these elections show that the general public will not care about the policies of the army.
Hasan Askar Rizvi, an expert on political issues, told Voice of America: “What votes will the candidates supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf get? This message will be sent to the Pakistan Army if their policies are not acceptable to the public.”
The members of Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf were forced to participate in the elections as permanent candidates due to not having a unified symbol, and since they cannot form a government alone, they must announce their decision to join other parties within 72 hours.
The leaders of this party are concerned that the successful candidates will be forced to join other parties under various pretexts.
Waleed Iqbal, one of the senior members of Tehreek-e-Insaf during his statement on this matter, told Voice of America that it is possible that some of them, if Tehreek-e-Insaf was not honest or corrupt, bought votes and some of them by force and threats to themselves or their family members. They will be forced to join one party and another.
No party was able to get the majority of seats in the elections on Thursday, which is enough to form a government. The future government will be a coalition, but it is not yet clear which party will win the presidency.
But Askar Rizvi says that despite getting the most seats, it will not be seen if the Pakistan Army will show its mercy towards Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf.
The Permanent Election Commission of Pakistan will unusually announce the final result and delay it.
Critics and members of Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf claim that if the commission does this, it will give the Army a chance to change the results, but the Election Commission says that it will not be able to announce the results due to disruption of internet services.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, led by Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, declared victory in the elections.
Hizb Tehreek-e-Insaf Pakistan used artificial intelligence to simulate the voice of Imran Khan, former Prime Minister N. Kishor, who would have been in jail, and spread the “victory speech” in the parliamentary elections.
The simulated voice of Imran Khan said: “I congratulate all of you on the victory in the 2024 elections. I was completely satisfied that you all came out to vote… and your wide participation has surprised everyone.”
Just a few hours before Khan’s speech, Nawaz Sharif delivered his victory speech and claimed that if the Muslim League-Nawaz emerged as the “biggest party” in the country, he would form a coalition government in Islamabad.
Sharif proposed that all political parties should come together and form a government to save Pakistan from the problems it is currently facing.
Observers of the affairs of Pakistan say that the dispute over the distribution of power and government seats in this country may be prolonged.
For this reason, Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, on Saturday, February 10, asked rival Pakistani politicians to use “maturity and unity” to form a coalition government.
Munir said that elections are not just a competition where one winner is perfect and the other loser is perfect, rather elections are “an exercise to determine the suffering of the people.”
The Pakistan Army has played a key role in the political arena of this country and since the separation from India in 1947, the military generals of Pakistan have ruled the country for almost half of Pakistan’s history.