PTI Has Promised to Fill Streets With Protests if Election Results are Delayed

Jailed Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has said it will fill the streets with peaceful protests if the official results of Pakistan's general elections are delayed.

Gohar Khan, the party chairman and Imran Khan’s lawyer, said the election victory has led to the formation of a new government.

Imran Khan's main rival and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has claimed victory in the polls. The party has also announced that it has started forming a government.

However, independent candidates won the most seats in the election, which saw 241 million voters. Provisional results show that independent candidates won 100 seats. Of these, 90 candidates are members of Imran Khan's PTI, or candidates who had pledged allegiance to Imran Khan. Sharif’s PML-N won 72 seats.

Celebrating the PTI's victory in the elections, Gohar Khan urged the government and state agencies to respect the election results. He said the PTI would hold massive protests near government offices if the Election Commission delayed the announcement of the official results.

Following his call, thousands of PTI supporters filled the streets of northwestern Peshawar, calling for the election results to be accepted. They are also accusing the government of trying to rig the results.