Pakistan election: Khan, Sharif both claim victory

Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed victory in the country's general election in an audio-visual message created using artificial intelligence and shared on his X social media account.

In the message, Khan rejected rival Nawaz Sharif's earlier claim to victory. Khan called on his supporters to celebrate a win that was achieved despite what he calls a crackdown on his party.

Independent candidates backed by Khan won the most seats in Thursday's national election, despite him being in jail and his party barred from the polls.

The United States says it expects and hopes for "timely, complete election results" from Pakistan, reflecting the will of its people.

Most seats have now been counted and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has claimed victory, despite independents aligned with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan having a lead.

"The United States is prepared to work with the next Pakistani government, regardless of political party, to advance our shared interests," the State Department added in a statement.

Two Pakistanis have been killed in a confrontation between police and followers of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the first confirmed fatalities over a contentious election count.

Independent candidates backed by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have fared better than had been expected, despite a crackdown and the party's removal from the ballot. 

There have been sporadic PTI protests amid claims the extra time is being used to allow authorities to rig the vote counting against them.

Police in the Shangla District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said the protesters had thrown stones at police and tried to set light to their vehicles. 

Meanwhile, PTI candidate Syed Fareen told the AFP news agency that "the police resorted to firing on peaceful protesters, resulting in the loss of lives of two of our workers."

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has claimed victory in national elections, with his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party emerging with the largest share of the vote.

Pakistan's Election Commission said official results showed that independent seats backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had won around 70 of the 265 seats being contested.

However, the biggest party standing directly was PML-N on 60 seats — well short of the 133 needed to achieve a majority.

Sharif said it would have been good to have obtained a clear majority, but that it was clear that his party didn't have the numbers to govern outright.  

He said he would reach out to the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which has so far notched up about 40 seats, to speak about a possible coalition. 

"We can’t hold elections again and again," he said in comments carried by Pakistan's Dawn news outlet. 

"All the institutions in this country, every one, should together play a positive role in bringing Pakistan out of this crisis," Nawaz said.

"This is everyone’s Pakistan, not just PML-N’s. Everyone should sit in harmony and bring Pakistan out of the difficulties."

Counting is still underway in the last remaining seats.

Khan was barred from contesting Thursday's election and his PTI was subject to a sweeping crackdown and taken off the ballot, forcing candidates to run as independents.

Candidates supporting former Prime Minister Imran Khan have won the most seats in Pakistan's assembly election with just over half the constituencies reporting, according to the country's election commission.

The body said candidates linked to Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had so far secured 48 seats.

The PTI candidates ran as independents as both the party and Khan, who is in jail, were barred from running.

Broadcaster GEO News has projected that Khan's independents have so far won 74 seats.

Those candidates from former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party have taken 42 seats.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, also got 34.

Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan have the edge in results from over 100 seats, local media projected.

Geo News said independents, who mostly owe allegiance to Khan, had won 47 of 106 seats for which it had results.

By 1 p.m. local time (0800 GMT) Friday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced 70 official results, with independents getting 24.

Khan is in jail and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was barred from the election, so his supporters contested as independents.

The Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, also got 24.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which is backed by the powerful military, has so far won 18.

A total of 265 seats were contested in Thursday's election.

Analysts have predicted there may be no clear winner.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged more than 2,000 points due to uncertainty surrounding the election results.

The KSE-100 shares index dropped 3.34% at one point, below the 62,000 mark.

By lunchtime, the index had recovered somewhat but was still nearly 1.76% down.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will win the Lahore seat in the country's national election, according to projections by broadcaster Geo News.

Early results showed his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party (PML-N) had the lead. The party also has the backing of the country's powerful military.

Sharif is the longest-serving prime minister of Pakistan, having served a total of more than 9 years across three tenures. Each term ended in his ousting.

Sharif is one of Pakistan's richest men, with an estimated net worth of $31 million (€29 million) in 2021.

The 74-year-old returned from exile in London last October to participate in the election.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over  violence in Pakistan and the suspension of mobile phone services on election day.

"As Pakistan awaits the results of the elections, the secretary-general encourages all political leaders and society segments to maintain a calm atmosphere, as well as refrain from the use of violence and any actions that could increase tensions," the UN Secretary-General's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in an emailed statement.

"It is important for all candidates and supporters to ensure that human rights and the rule of law are fully respected in the interest of the Pakistani people and (to) resolve any disputes that might arise through established legal procedures," the spokesperson added.

Thursday's vote was marred by militant attacks and the suspension of mobile phone services.

Phone networks cut services early Thursday but they were being partially restored late into the night, the Interior Ministry said late on Thursday.

The Ministry cited security reasons for the suspension, which was also condemned by rights groups such as Amnesty International.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) party is leading the polls, winning four of the eight parliamentary seat results declared by early Friday. 

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party secured one seat, while independents claimed the remaining three.

Independent candidates liked to jailed Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, the winners of the last election, are outperforming expectations by leading in many constituencies, the AFP news agency reported, citing local news reports. 

Khan's party has been barred from participating in the election as a bloc, but individuals endorsed by his party entered the race as independent candidates.

The main competition is expected between the candidates supported by imprisoned Khan's PTI party and Sharif's PML-N, reportedly backed by the military. 

Pakistan's vote count following their national election on Thursday was marred by delays, leading the Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday morning to order returning officers to speed up the release of results.

By 3 a.m. local time (2200 GMT, Thursday), more than 10 hours after polls closed, only four provincial assembly results had been announced.

The delay has been blamed on "internet problems" after the closure by authorities of internet and phone access during the day.

The Interior Ministry said communications outages were "to maintain law and order" after two explosions on Wednesday by the "Islamic State" killed 28 people. 

Pakistani voters went to the election polls on Thursday, but the day was marred by violence and the suspension of communication services.

Mobile phone services across Pakistan were suspended during polling hours, with the Interior Ministry citing the need to "maintain law and order." In a statement, a ministry spokesman said, "It has been decided to temporarily suspend the mobile service across the country."

Supporters of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan told DW that the authorities shutting down internet and phone access was a ploy to dissuade them from voting for him — a claim Pakistan’s caretaker government denied.

Pakistani voters showed themselves undeterred by very cold weather in several parts of the country, even while the threat of violence is highlighted by the tens of thousands of troops deployed across the country. However, pollsters predicted a low turnout from the country's 128 million eligible voters. 

Highlighting the risks of voting, at least 12 people, mostly security officials, were killed in numerous militant attacks aiming to disrupt the elections, the Pakistani military said. The attacks occurred in at least 51 places in Pakistan’s volatile southwestern and northwestern regions that border Afghanistan and Iran, a statement said.

km/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP, DPA)