pakistan parliament sworn in newly elected members Chaos broke out in Parliament House on Thursday as allies of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan chanted and protested, claiming the election was fraudulent.
Lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party repeatedly chanted “vote thief!” Shehbaz Sharif, who is expected to form the next government, became a member of parliament along with his younger brother Nawaz Sharif. Both men are former prime ministers.
Outgoing Speaker of Parliament Raja Pervez Ashraf administered the oath to the incoming members at noon.
Mr Ayab, like other MPs supported by Mr Khan, was barred from running for election. February 8th election — Joined the Sunni Ittihad Council to meet the legal requirements for a seat in parliament, as the PTI was barred from voting in its official name and its candidates had to fight elections as independents. .
A chorus of “Long live Sharif!” echoed throughout the house. When the Sharif brothers signed the register after taking the oath of office. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a young leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and a key ally of Sharif, was subjected to similar chants.
The new government will face challenges such as a surge in attacks by armed groups and energy shortages. The economic downturn will also force Pakistan to seek further relief from the International Monetary Fund.
Lawmakers from Khan’s PTI party told reporters that they would continue their campaign inside and outside parliament to protest irregularities in the election and vote counting.
“Yes, the elections were rigged,” claimed Gohar Ali Khan, the current head of PTI.
PTI called for a nationwide rally on Saturday. The party claims results were changed in dozens of constituencies to prevent it from winning a majority, a charge denied by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The election took place against a backdrop of multiple deadly extremist attacks, with the US State Department later criticizing authorities for restricting freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Authorities imposed a mobile service suspension on election day.
The European Union also criticized the inability of some political actors to participate in elections. Pakistan’s foreign ministry pushed back against the criticism, insisting that the vote was held in a free, fair and transparent manner.
None of the foreign observers monitoring the election described widespread vote theft.
Sharif’s Pakistan Islamic League Partythe PML-N, and former president Asif Ali Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party had the largest presence in the 336-seat National Assembly, or lower house.
Under a power-sharing formula, Mr Sharif’s party will support Mr Zardari in next month’s presidential election. Outgoing President Arif Alvi is an ally of Mr. Khan’s and was a senior member of the PTI before he took office.
Khan is currently serving a prison sentence for multiple cases and is prohibited from holding or holding public office.he was convicted corruption charges, reveal official secrets and violate marriage law Three separate verdicts handed him concurrent prison sentences of 10, 14 and 7 years.
Khan has appealed all convictions, claiming the incidents were politically motivated and orchestrated to prevent his return to power. He has about 170 ongoing lawsuits against him, ranging from corruption to incitement of violence and terrorism.
On Wednesday, PTI sent a letter to the IMF requesting that all negotiations with Islamabad be linked to an audit of Islamabad. Party claims there was fraud in February 8 election. This came days before the IMF released a major installment of a bailout loan to Pakistan.
The letter has drawn widespread criticism from Mr Khan’s rivals, including Mr Sharif, who said the former cricketer turned Islamist politician was trying to damage the country’s economy.
Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, was the prime minister during his last term, when the IMF approved a long-awaited $3 billion loan last summer. At the time, the country had difficulty avoiding defaulting on external payments. .
Sharif said he would seek a new IMF rescue package after the current one expires at the end of March.
