Pakistan Opposition leader Bilawal urges PoK EC to ensure fair vote amid polls

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday called upon the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Election Commission (EC) to ensure free and fair elections as polling for the occupied region's Legislative Assembly is underway.

"The visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the PoK can never be justified as lawful," The Express Tribune quoted Bilawal as saying. He added that the premier's visit was a sheer manifestation of the PTI government's "absolute disregard" for the writ of the Pak-occupied Kashmir election commission.

He made these remarks while addressing a press conference in Karachi.

Bilawal accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of harming the Kashmir cause saying the "puppet government of the PTI had not done anything for the people of the region in its tenure and left them helpless", reported The Express Tribune.

Despite appeals to postpone the polls for two months due to the threat of a resurgence of coronavirus, the polling for general elections in PoK began on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also appealed to locals in the area to exercise their voting rights and also to ensure that "ballot thieves" do not win, referring to the Imran Khan-led ruling government.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan had made tall promises in a bid to woo voters amid lackluster support to his party.

Leader of Opposition in the Pakistan National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif later on Saturday slammed Pakistan PM for his statement assuring Kashmiris a right to opt for independence. Shehbaz Sharif said the Khan's remarks were a 'deviation' from Pakistan's historical stance on the issue, Dawn reported.

Last year, Pakistan conducted the Legislative Assembly election in occupied Gilgit-Baltistan.

The main opposition parties-- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP-- had termed the occupied Gilgit-Baltistan election rigged as the polls were in favour of Imran Khan's PTI party.