PkNAP Strongly Condemns Alleged Rigging in February 8, 2024 General Elections

**Quetta (Qudrat Daily):** The central secretariat of the Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party (PkNAP) has strongly condemned the alleged systematic rigging in the February 8, 2024 general elections, terming it an attack on the mandate of 250 million people. In a statement, the party declared February 8 as the darkest day in Pakistan’s 78-year history.

The statement said that candidates who had emerged victorious on Form-45 in both the National and Provincial Assemblies were deliberately defeated through Form-47 by means of what it described as open, organized, and shameful electoral manipulation. PkNAP stated that such practices have no precedent not only in Pakistan but also in the democratic history of the world. According to the party, the sole objective of these actions was to maintain the dominance of the establishment over national and provincial assemblies and to render the parliamentary system ineffective.

PkNAP further stated that its Chairman, Khushal Khan Kakar, secured a clear lead in National Assembly constituencies **NA-251 (Zhob, Qila Saifullah, Kachhi Sherani)** and **NA-265 (Pishin)**. As per results compiled by the Election Commission, he stood victorious in both constituencies. However, the party alleged that deliberate hurdles are being created in the notification of his success due to interference by the establishment, which it termed a blatant violation of the Constitution of Pakistan and the electoral process.

The statement also criticized the rollback of provincial autonomy, democratic governance, and social justice achieved through the 18th Constitutional Amendment, alleging that these rights have effectively been nullified through the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments. PkNAP claimed that the judiciary has been reduced to a subordinate institution, while the media is acting as a mouthpiece of the establishment. It added that a One Unit–style authoritarian system has effectively been imposed, with all key powers related to internal and foreign policy concentrated in the hands of the establishment.

According to the party, under these circumstances Pashtun, Baloch, Sindhi, Siraiki, and other oppressed nationalities, along with the working class, are facing severe political subjugation and economic devastation. Widespread poverty, unemployment, insecurity, and lawlessness have made life increasingly difficult for the people, while dissenting voices are being suppressed through state coercion.

The statement emphasized that it is the foremost responsibility of democratic forces representing oppressed and working people to form a broad, united, and democratic front to launch an organized movement for a new social contract. PkNAP said this new contract must be based on the true spirit of the 1940 Resolution, calling for a democratic federation comprising autonomous and empowered federal units representing Pashtun, Baloch, Sindhi, Siraiki, and Punjabi nations.

The party concluded that only through such a democratic federation—ensuring equal representation of federal units in the National Assembly and equal participation in the armed forces and all federal institutions—can the authoritarian and exploitative dominance imposed by the establishment be permanently dismantled, paving the way for a prosperous, peaceful, democratic, and developed future for all peoples of Pakistan.