PTI demands publication of Commonwealth report on election 2024

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has urged the Commonwealth Observer Group to make public its report on the February 8, 2024, elections, calling the polls a “mega robbery.” Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the leaked findings confirmed widespread rigging, institutional bias, and targeted actions against PTI and its founder Imran Khan.

He said the report highlighted how PTI was deprived of its election symbol, while Khan received three convictions days before polling, denying voters a fair choice. Waqas added that Nawaz Sharif’s lifetime ban was overturned just before nominations, allowing his return while PTI was sidelined.

The PTI spokesman said the leaked findings exposed manipulation of Forms 45, 46, and 47, with altered vote counts favouring rivals. He alleged that PTI faced raids, arrests, missing leaders, internet shutdowns, and selective enforcement of rules, while opponents campaigned freely.

Waqas accused the government of ignoring inflation, floods, and terrorism threats, saying its focus remained on crushing PTI. He warned that flawed counter-terrorism strategies had worsened militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

He criticised the lack of compensation and rehabilitation for those displaced by military operations and said promises made under the National Action Plan after the Fata merger were never fulfilled. He called the shifting of FC headquarters from Peshawar to Islamabad a politicised move to suppress PTI.

Waqas stressed that if the government was serious about security, it would release political prisoners, end the crackdown on PTI, and adopt a unified national counterterrorism strategy. He demanded immediate disbursement of merger funds to KP instead of spending on foreign trips.