Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has strongly criticised Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over his allegations of rigging in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections.
Maryam Nawaz said the election results reflected the choice of the people and were not decided by the state. She urged the PPP leadership to accept its defeat with an open heart instead of questioning the election process after losing.
She pointed out that when the PPP won elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) accepted the results. However, she said Bilawal was now alleging rigging after his party suffered a defeat in AJK.
The Punjab chief minister also criticised the PPP’s election campaign, claiming that the party failed to present a clear agenda, meaningful reforms or a convincing plan for addressing public issues. She said the party’s rallies did not receive the level of public support it expected and argued that voters rejected the PPP because it failed to offer practical solutions to their problems.
The exchange has intensified political tensions between the PML-N and PPP following the AJK election results, with both parties defending their positions and questioning each other’s political claims.
