"Qayamat kitne baje hai": Maryam Nawaz takes swipe at PPP over rigging allegations

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has rejected allegations of electoral rigging levelled against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, accusing the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of hypocrisy.

In a statement posted on social media, Maryam Nawaz wrote that the PPP, which she described as the "mastermind of electoral manipulation", was now complaining about election rigging. She concluded her post with the rhetorical remark: "When is Doomsday due?"

Tweet by Maryam Nawaz Sharif

Her comments came after PPP Central Punjab General Secretary Hassan Murtaza alleged at a press conference in Lahore that the AJK elections had been marred by widespread irregularities.

Murtaza claimed that the election code of conduct had been repeatedly violated and accused the Election Commission of acting like an election agent rather than an impartial referee. He said the elections had set "a new benchmark" for rigging.

Without naming Maryam Nawaz directly, Murtaza also referred to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, saying that he had travelled to Kashmir seeking support to become prime minister.

He argued that if PML-N leaders were now seeking the office of AJK prime minister, it was only because of the PPP.

He said the PPP continued to respect Nawaz Sharif but claimed that it was his own party that had diminished his political stature.

Murtaza alleged that while Nawaz Sharif was seeking the AJK premiership, the PML-N had instead appointed him to head an institution in Lahore.

The PPP leader also criticised the Punjab government's handling of recent flooding, claiming that residents had been deprived of their right to live in safety.

He alleged that thousands of acres of farmland between Shahdara and Muridke remained submerged under up to 10 feet of water, adding that the flooding had been caused by a breached drain embankment rather than a natural flood.

Earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also accused authorities of rigging during the first phase of the AJK elections.