Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has rejected what he described as a misleading impression being created on social and electronic media that his party suffered a major defeat in the recent Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) elections.
Saad Rafique Clarifies Election Results
In a statement posted on social media, Saad Rafique said that over the past 48 hours an inaccurate narrative had been promoted regarding the election results. He maintained that PML-N had won six seats directly, while two independent candidates backed by the party had also emerged victorious, bringing the party's effective strength to eight seats.
Close Contest with PPP
He pointed out that the Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had secured 10 seats, while PML-N stood at eight, making the contest far closer than portrayed by critics. Saad Rafique acknowledged that PPP entered the election campaign much earlier and possessed a stronger organizational structure in Gilgit-Baltistan than PML-N.
Challenges Faced by PML-N
The former minister noted that the party's central leadership had been actively engaged in the region for nearly two months and had deployed substantial financial resources during the campaign. By contrast, he said, PML-N had once again entered the electoral race relatively late and lacked party funds. He also blamed internal factionalism within the party's local ranks for weakening its position, adding that the central leadership had not paid adequate attention to these issues.
Saad Rafique further noted that although PML-N fielded candidates in several constituencies, it had relatively few electable candidates. He claimed that a large segment of voters traditionally aligned with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opted to support PPP after finding their own party absent from the electoral field, rather than voting for PML-N. He also conceded that rising inflation had negatively affected the popularity of the ruling party.
Significant Achievement Despite Odds
Despite these challenges, Saad Rafique described the outcome as a significant achievement for PML-N. He said the party managed to win eight seats, organized successful public gatherings, rallies and corner meetings attended by thousands of supporters, and conducted effective campaigns in almost every constituency. He added that several PML-N candidates had narrowly lost their contests and argued that the party's overall vote performance was impressive given the circumstances.
The PML-N leader singled out Federal Minister Amir Muqam, Captain Safdar, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Dr Ibad and Abid Raza Kotla for special praise, saying they had worked tirelessly throughout the campaign.
Call for Cooperation with PPP
Offering his personal assessment of the post-election political situation, Saad Rafique suggested that PML-N should cooperate with PPP in the formation of a government in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the parliamentary system. However, he advised the party not to seek ministerial positions in the new setup.
“In my opinion, PML-N should support government formation by PPP but should not take any ministries,” he said, adding that the party would be better positioned by playing the role of a constructive opposition in Gilgit-Baltistan.
