U.S CALLS FOR PAKISTAN ELECTION RIGGING CLAIMS TO BE INVESTIGATED

“We join credible international and local election observers in their assessment that these elections included undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

We condemn electoral violence, restrictions on the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including attacks on media workers, and restrictions on access to the Internet and telecommunication services, and are concerned about allegations of interference in the electoral process. 

Claims of interference or fraud should be fully investigated.” Source: U.S Dept. of State"

BREAKING: PAKISTANI ARMY “BLOWING UP” ELECTION AGAINST IMRAN KHAN

According to on-the-ground sources, Imran Khan’s party is still ahead. However, there are reports of a series of explosions across the country of polling centers filled with ballots and reports of the army stealing ballot boxes.

The Pakistani army is reportedly trying to sway the elections from Imran Khan to Nawaz Sharif. Remember Imran Khan, who was on our space weeks before his arrest, has allegedly been the target of a political witch-hunt by Pakistan’s military establishment, including a recent assassination attempt.

Source: Tasnim News

“Most people voted for Imran Khan as they felt most empowered in supporting him,” said Irfanullah Khan, a 35-year-old in the Mardan district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who like other voters NBC News interviewed is unrelated to Khan but shares his highly common surname.

“He has masterfully exploited things which are missing in people’s lives. This, in turn, makes people believe that he is particularly speaking for them.”

Others appeared to be making more of a political statement. Imtiaz Khan, a longtime PPP supporter, said that this time he had voted for Khan’s PTI, and that “the way people came out to support them is in fact a reaction of the people against the Pakistani establishment and its policies.”

“They bring people into power and then send them home unceremoniously when they turn against them and their interests,” Khan, a farmer, said.

The PTI leader also has his detractors such as Islam Khan, who said the former cricket player was “not a mature and positive politician.”

“Rather than focusing on governance and people’s problems, he spent his energy and state resources on sending his political rivals into jails and caused a huge backlash,” said Khan, an engineer who voted for Sharif, citing his experience and economic policies.

Others, like business owner Mukhtiar Khan, said they saw Khan as the least objectionable choice.

“I don’t think he is the perfect person,” he said. “But he is the only hope for millions of Pakistanis, as we have seen all other politicians.”