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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) leader Khawaja Ijaz Rafique and the party's official X account have alleged that widespread protests, public resistance and a boycott disrupted the electoral process across the Muzaffarabad Division, while condemning the use of force by security personnel against protesters.
In a post on X, Khawaja Ijaz Rafique claimed that before the electoral process began in the Muzaffarabad Division, the entire city and several other districts were gripped by protests. He alleged that highways were blocked, people remained on the streets, and security forces used force to transport polling staff to different locations. Rafique further claimed that incidents of firing were reported along the Neelum Road from Khoori to Nouseri, where, according to him, security forces also faced public resistance. He alleged that, because of the protests, polling staff could not reach several polling stations, leading to the postponement of polling in three union councils in the Kotli and Lachrat constituencies, Panjgran, Nouseri Nousuda, and Panjkot. According to Rafique, the actual reason for postponing the polling was the public protests and the deteriorating law-and-order situation. He alleged that authorities attempted to conceal the ground situation by attributing the postponement to adverse weather conditions. He also claimed that public apathy, protests and boycott of the electoral process in the Muzaffarabad Division demonstrated that people had rejected what he described as a "rigged, selection-based, and sham electoral process," adding that such elections neither reflected the public mandate nor the true opinion of the people. Separately, in a series of posts on X, Tehreek-e-Insaf PoJK said a protest demonstration was held in Luton, United Kingdom, against what it described as the "martyrdom" of unarmed and peaceful Kashmiris allegedly killed by Pakistan Rangers in PoJK. According to the party, participants demanded the provision of basic rights and strongly condemned the alleged killing of innocent Kashmiris. Tehreek-e-Insaf PoJK also alleged that police resorted to force while transporting polling staff to polling stations in Muzaffarabad, claiming that the city witnessed widespread protests, a complete shutdown and people taking to the streets. The party further alleged that police opened fire during the unrest and that, despite these measures, polling staff could not reach several polling stations, forcing polling to be postponed. The party reiterated its allegation that authorities were misleading the public by attributing the postponement of polling to weather-related issues instead of acknowledging the impact of protests and the prevailing law and order situation. In another post, Tehreek-e-Insaf PoJK condemned what it described as heavy firing by police and Pakistan Rangers on peaceful demonstrators demanding their rights in Muzaffarabad. The party claimed that, instead of succumbing to pressure, the people had made their position clear by completely boycotting what it described as a "sham electoral process." (ANI)
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