GILGIT - All the opposition parties in Gilgit-Baltistan have rejected election results terming them rigged.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, addressing a sit-in of party workers in front of Deputy Commissioner GB office, said that their votes were stolen with in a planned manner. He said they will keep on staging protests extending them to Islamabad if their reservations were not addressed.

Later, during his media talk at Gilgit Press Club, Bilawal Bhutto said that they were not given the level playing field during the elections. He said that they were not given the equal chances to contest elections in GB.

He claimed that results were changed overnight and PPP’s mandate was stolen. He further claimed that GB Election Commission could not ignore ‘clear rigging’ taken place during elections.

He added that they will not allow anyone to create a sense of chaos and sectarianism in GB on the bases of divide and rule strategy. He maintained that they were not supposed to tolerate any such injustice with PPP.

He said that if the ministers of PPP could be disqualified on the basis of violation of constitution then the ministers of PTI who violated the constitution during election campaign could also be disqualified. He said that they will raise the issue in court as it was their legal right.

He announced that he will participate in the protests which are going to be held regularly in Gilgit against rigging.

Criticising the government, he said that PTI government had done no homework for GB elections and this is the reason that they were yet to announce the name of their candidate for Chief Minister.

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Ahsan Iqbal in his media talk here in Gilgit had termed the elections rigged and claimed that their mandate was stolen.

He added that all authorities concerned were silent over violation of election laws by the government ministers during the election campaign.

Following the other opposition parties Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) also rejected Gilgit-Baltistan elections terming them manipulated and controversial.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in his recent statement regarding GB elections, also decided to raise rigging in GB elections in upcoming meeting of Pakistan democratic Movement (PDM).

Maulana Fazl in his comments over the GB elections said that what had happened in 2018 elections was repeated in the GB polls. He maintained that they had already informed authorities concerned of rigging in elections.

He added that they will not let the selected government rule GB as they had stolen the votes of the opposition parties; adding that it was their right to protest against rigging taken place in the GB elections.