Maryam asks PPP to stop crying, accept AJK poll defeat

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday urged the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to accept its defeat in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, rejecting allegations of electoral rigging made by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

In a video statement, Maryam said: "Crying will not help. The PPP should have accepted its defeat in the AJK polls with an open heart."

Her remarks came hours after Bilawal questioned the conduct of the elections during a workers' convention in Muzaffarabad, saying the state must decide whether national interest or the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) political interests were more important.

According to unofficial and provisional results, the PML-N won nine of the 13 seats contested in the first phase of the AJK elections across Mirpur Division, while the PPP secured four seats.

Rejecting the PPP's allegations, Maryam said there was no evidence of rigging against PML-N candidates.

"The decision in an election is made by the people, not by the state," she said, adding that those alleging rigging were "themselves involved in electoral malpractice".

She urged political parties to respect the public mandate to strengthen democracy and called on the PPP to review its performance and carry out self-accountability.

Maryam also criticised the PPP's governance in Sindh, saying the province had remained under the party's rule for 17 years and needed improvements in sanitation, law and order and road infrastructure. She added that Bilawal had failed to present the Sindh government's performance or a roadmap for the future.