PTI backed independent candidates were arrested one day before the polling and their workers were detained at unknown places while CNIC are being snatched from the supporters of PTI so that they could not exercise their right of vote in favour of Imran Khan.
In the 2024 polls, the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) is on the wrong side of the military establishment while three-time premier Nawaz Sharif has appeared to be its darling.
The mainstream parties like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have had massive campaigning while the PTI was stopped by police and intelligence agencies from doing any kind of campaign, mostly in Punjab.
PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan told this correspondent on Wednesday that in Thursday's polls, the country is witnessing the worst-ever political engineering in the history of Pakistan to keep Khan's party from winning the polls.
“It has been by all means the worst-ever political engineering through all phases of the elections to keep the PTI out of the election process and achieve the desired result,” Hasan said and added that despite all this political engineering and atrocities against the PTI leaders and workers, Khan's party is going to win Thursday's polls.
“A reign of terror has been unleashed on the party for the past 22 months under the ‘London Plan' to dismantle PTI and remove its founding chairman Imran Khan from the political scene,” Hasan said.
He said the PTI leaders and workers were subjected to the worst state terrorism and barbarism after the “regime change conspiracy” of April 9, 2022. Khan accuses the military of orchestrating his ouster and maintains the powerful security institution is behind dozens of pending lawsuits against him as punishment for questioning generals' illegal intervention in politics. There has been no response from the military
"We expect the higher courts will carefully review these conclusions in line with applicable due process and fair trial rights and Pakistan's wider international human rights obligations," Throssell said.
She also deplored violent acts targeting political parties and candidates ahead of the vote, in which several people were killed and dozens more were wounded.
With Khan out of the election race, his bitter rival, Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister, seems to be the top contender for the country's chief executive post.
Sharif ended his years of self-imposed exile and returned to Pakistan in October after allegedly striking a deal with the military and has since been absolved of past convictions for corruption. He and the military have been mostly silent on the deal allegations.
On Tuesday, state media quoted caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as telling a delegation of foreign election observers that his government had made "the best possible arrangements" to ensure a "peaceful and seamless conduct of elections on polling day across the country."
Federal Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz told reporters in Islamabad that, citing security concerns, the government may temporarily disrupt internet service in parts of the country during Thursday's election if provincial or district authorities request it.
"As of now, no decision has been made. If a request is received from a province or a district, we will assess the threat level in that area," Ejaz told reporters in Islamabad. "Terrorists use WhatsApp for internal communication. If there is terrorist activity, should we not stop communication?" he asked.
The minister's remarks prompted human rights defenders to urge Islamabad not to suspend internet service, warning that doing so would damage the credibility of an electoral process already under fire.
"Pakistan authorities must immediately reverse repressive measures aimed at curtailing journalists' ability to report freely in the lead-up to the February 8 polls," Beh Lih Yi, Asia program coordinator at the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said Tuesday in a statement.
She added, "Blocking critical reporting and hindering access to an open flow of information will only raise more questions about the election, which is already under scrutiny for its legitimacy."
Amnesty International pressed Pakistan to "guarantee interrupted access to the internet and digital communication platforms for everyone across the country."
In the run-up to the vote, authorities have repeatedly suspended internet service and blocked access to major social media platforms nationwide to disrupt PTI virtual assemblies and campaigning.
The party's official website has been blocked in Pakistan for nearly two weeks, denying voters access to information. Government officials and the state-run Pakistan Telecommunication Authority remain silent on the matter.
Throssell also noted in her statement Tuesday that the parliamentary election "is a reminder of the barriers faced by women and minority communities in Pakistan, particularly the Ahmadis."
The Muslim-majority nation of about 241 million people declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. Human rights groups say the legislation encouraged Islamic extremists to attack members of the minority community, their worship places and even graveyards in the years that followed.
"Separate voter lists — as is the case for the Ahmadis — expose them to harassment and violence, despite the equal rights guaranteed to minorities in Pakistan's constitution," she said.
The OHCHR spokesperson also raised concerns regarding the fact that even though 22% of seats in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament are reserved for women, some political parties seem to have failed to meet the legal requirement of having at least 5% women candidates on their party lists.
