LAHORE: The PTI wrested control of Punjab back from the PML-N on Sunday with a landslide victory in the by-election on 20 constituencies. The party won 15 constituencies, dealing a major blow to the PML-N, who only clinched four.
The by-polls on the 20 Punjab Assembly seats were crucial as they were to decide the fate of Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz. With 15 seats in hand, PTI is likely to defeat Hamza when a recount of votes for the chief minister election takes place on July 22. A breakdown of the unofficial, preliminary results from today’s polls is given below:
A scuffle broke out between PTI and PML-N workers during the polling process in Lahore’s constituency PP-158. As a result, one of the PML-N workers sustained a head injury. Meanwhile, PML-N candidate Rana Ahsan Sharafat engaged in a heated argument with PTI leader Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, after which the police apprehended him. PTI leader Shahbaz Gill was arrested by the Punjab Police for roaming around the city and visiting polling stations during the by-elections with his security guards, who were allegedly dressed as FC personnel, Geo News reported Sunday. PML-N spokesperson and Punjab Home Minister Atta Tarar confirmed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s aide was taken into custody. However, Gill denied the allegations of keeping any security guards dressed up in FC officials’ uniforms and claimed that he had been engaged for three hours and was suddenly arrested without a warrant.
The politician said that he will act according to what his lawyers suggest. Following Gill’s arrest, PTI Chairman Imran Khan PTI condemned it, terming the move an attempt to “rig elections”. “Strongly condemn illegal arrest of Shahbaz Gill simply to try [and] rig elections [and] spread fear in [people],” Khan wrote on Twitter. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while taking to his Twitter account, once again criticized the performance of PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, saying his speeches were proof of how “unfit” he was to hold a public office. Every speech Imran Niazi delivers shows how unfit he is to hold public office. Under his direct supervision, the PTI has run a sordid campaign to defame national institutions [and] thus undermine Pakistan,” he wrote. PM Shehbaz said Khan is rewriting Machiavellian principles of politics in his lust for power.
