Imran Khan, who is in jail and barred from contesting elections, managed to grab the headlines as independent candidates who support his party Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) won 102 seats.
But the party still fell 31 seats short of the majority mark needed to form the government. The result of 8 seats is yet to be announced.
Pakistan election commission has attributed the delay to internet issues, due to which polling stations are facing difficulties transmitting the results.
Nawaz Sharif‘s Pakistan Muslim League (N), which was backed by the Army and the favourite to win the polls, could manage just 73 seats in the 266-seat assembly. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 54.
Both Khan and three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, declared victory yesterday increasing uncertainty over who will form the next government at a time when swift policy action is needed to address multiple challenges.
The independents’ strong performance points to former prime minister Imran Khan‘s enduring popularity among the nation’s 241 million people, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet amid the fastest inflation in Asia.
Several independents, backed by PTI, have alleged fraud in the election results and moved the high court. According to local media reports, several more candidates could approach the court over the next few days alleging that the votes were rigged.
PTI is also expected to launch nationwide protests today as the final results of the elections have still not been released.  
Gohar Khan, PTI chairman, called on “all institutions” in Pakistan to respect his party’s mandate. At a press conference, he said if complete results of the polls were not released by Saturday night, the party would hold peaceful protests today outside government offices returning election results around the country.
In a bid to keep Imran Khan’s party away from the country’s top office, Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto are holding talks to join hands. But even with the combined strength, they will fall short of the majority by 6 seats.

Coming out all guns blazing at the BJP-led Centre during a debate in the Lok Sabha on a resolution on the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said he has the highest respect for the deity but ‘hates’ Nathuram Godse, the assailant who fatally shot Mahatma Gandhi.

Bristling at the ruling BJP during the discussion on the Ram Temple in the Lower House, the AIMIM MP said, “I have the highest respect for Lord Ram but hate Nathuram Godse because he killed the person whose last words were ‘Hey Ram’.”

Taking the attack to the ruling party at the Centre a notch higher, Mr Owaisi demanded that the BJP come out with a clarification on whether the government has a ‘religion of its own’.

“I want to ask today: is this government under the leadership of PM Modi for a particular community, the practitioners of a certain religion or the entire country? Does this government have a religion of its own? I believe that this country does not and should not stand for any particular religion,” Owaisi said.

The AIMIM chief further called on the government to come clean on whether the resolution on the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of the deity on January 22 was meant merely to mark the triumph of one religion over the other.

“Through this resolution on the January 22nd event in Ayodhya, is this government sending out a message that it marked the triumph of one religion over the other? What larger message are they sending out to the 17 crore Muslims in the country?” the AIMIM leader asked.

Also lashing out at the BJP for allegedly labelling leaders from the minority community after Muslim invaders and rulers, Mr Owaisi asked, “Am I a spokesperson for Babar, Jinnah or Aurangzeb?”

The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, also held a discussion on the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on the last day of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Taking the floor in the Upper House during the discussion, BJP national president JP Nadda said the ‘Pran Pratishtha Day’ marked the resurgence or rebirth of the country’s spiritual and cultural conscience.

“When we speak of the 500-year-old history, it was that of slavery and oppression. However, January 22, 2024 will go down as a day of rebirth and resurgence of the country’s spiritual and cultural conscience. This day will remain memorable for thousands of years,” Mr Nadda said.

Mobile internet connectivity has been suspended in seven districts as the BJP-led Haryana government gears up to block the farmers’ march to Delhi on Tuesday. The Manohar Lal Khattar government has issued a notification, saying dongle services provided on mobile phones, will remain suspended and only voice calls would go through.

The farmers are demanding a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce and pension and insurance schemes. More than 200 organisations are part of the protest.

Mobile internet services have been suspended in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa districts till Tuesday night.

Police, meanwhile, have planned to seal Haryana-Punjab borders to ensure protesting farmers from the neighbouring state cannot enter Haryana before proceeding to Delhi. This move will inconvenience those travelling between Chandigarh and Delhi. Police have announced alternative routes for this purpose.

Haryana Police have advised commuters to avoid arterial roads on Tuesday. It has also warned of traffic disruption due to the protest. On the borders between Haryana and Delhi, cement barriers, barbed wires and sandbags are in place to stop the farmers from crossing into the national capital. Water cannons and drones have also been brought in.

Fifty companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to assist Haryana Police. Haryana police chief Shatrujeet Kapur warned of taking strict action if anyone tries to disrupt peace. The police have asked farmers to stay away and also warned of action if public property is damaged. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, too, has said the state government “will ensure complete peace”.

The Centre, meanwhile, has invited the protesting farmers for talks tomorrow. But it is unlikely that the meeting will result in the farmers calling off protests because the demands require detailed discussion and parliamentary moves.

The protest is being organised by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and several farmers’ organisations have distanced itself from it. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal), which was part of the farmers’ protest in 2020-21 that led to the Centre withdrawing three laws, said they won’t join Tuesday’s protest. Instead, they will participate in a protest on Friday. The BKU, however, warned that if farmers part of Tuesday’s protest are “manhandled”, all unions will hit the streets.