New Delhi, Pakistan watchers in the United States today doubted the fairness of the general election for which Imran Khan’s party received the army’s backing while the PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Partyran their campaigns “under constraints”.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration said it was closely monitoring the situation in Pakistan but refused to declare the polls “free and fair”.<\/p>\n
The State Department too refused to confirm that. Its mission in Pakistan did not deploy election observers primarily because of security concerns.<\/p>\n
“We continue to monitor developments and have consistently emphasised our support for free, fair, transparent and accountable elections in Pakistan, as we do around the world,” a State Department spokesperson.<\/p>\n
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the US, \u00a0said that the result of the election was “foretold”.<\/p>\n
“PML-N and PPP were running under constraints and PTI was operating with complete freedom and establishment backing.”<\/p>\n
Haqqani, who is with the Hudson Institute think-tank, \u00a0said the result was unlikely to change anything in Pakistan, unless the military-led establishment decides to shutdown its “jihad business” and recognises it as the source of the country’s isolation and economic difficulties.<\/p>\n
“It is unlikely that a prime minister Imran Khan will act decisively against jihadis, given his sympathy for their cause but miracles can happen,” Haqqani said.<\/p>\n
The comments came as political parties in Pakistan, including the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, too raised allegations that the election was manipulated and rigged in PTI chief Khan’s favour.<\/p>\n
At a midnight press conference when the vote count was underway, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif said the election was a “blatant violation” of the mandate of the people. Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari too raised doubts over the slow pace of vote count and other procedural irregularities.<\/p>\n
“There are serious allegations of tampering and interference for virtually all parties except the PTI. So the Election Commission of Pakistan will have to respond — but it is unclear how,” former state department official Alyssa Ayres, who is now with the Council on Foreign Relations, said.<\/p>\n
In an early-morning press conference, the Election Commission rejected the charges, saying it did “our job right.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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