00:00You are watching a special transmission, Zimli Intikhaab, which is a total of 21 national and provincial assemblies across the country.
00:07We are sharing the results with you as they come to light.
00:10But we also have to look at this voting trend.
00:12As a result of this election, the political parties, of course, also have an inward look
00:18as to where they are standing after every election.
00:21So, I think it is also necessary to take a look at the political parties in this election.
00:25PMLN's Bilal Kiani is with us.
00:27Thank you very much, Mr. Kiani, for joining us.
00:29First things first, how important is this Zimli Intikhaab?
00:32If I ask you about PMLN,
00:34that a Zimli Intikhaab is being held a few months after the general election,
00:38especially Lahore is an important place where you have three or four seats.
00:42Central Punjab has some important seats.
00:44So, what are your thoughts on the importance of PMLN's Zimli Intikhaab in the banks?
00:49Yes, Ms. Akmali Mari Sahiba, thank you for having me on this transmission.
00:53Yes, definitely, as a political party and the main political party of Pakistan,
00:59every election is important for us.
01:01But these seats that you have mentioned,
01:04whether they are in Lahore, Kuala Lumpur, Kasur, Sheikhupura or Narwal,
01:09all of them definitely have a special place.
01:12These are the seats from where we win the elections on 8th February.
01:16And these seats have been vacated for us
01:19because one of our candidates has left two seats,
01:22Yasir Bhai's seat or the National Assembly's seat.
01:25So, these are the seats that we win.
01:27So, definitely, it is important for us
01:29that we claim these seats again in the elections,
01:33and win these seats again.
01:35And you can see that the results that are coming,
01:38that we have also followed,
01:40that are also going on in the media,
01:42in almost all of those seats,
01:45which are confirming the victory on 8th February.
01:49So, in your election cell,
01:51if I ask you how comfortably you are claiming,
01:54that how many seats are being won comfortably by PMLN,
01:58what will that figure be?
02:00Yes, honestly, I will be honest,
02:02I am not going to, because I am not involved in that exercise.
02:05That is why, even I,
02:07the feedback that we have received from some candidates,
02:11and what I have heard from some colleagues,
02:14and what we are following in the media,
02:16across all channels, if you see,
02:18the majority of the seats,
02:20from where we were winning,
02:22some have more weight,
02:24some have less.
02:26But more or less, we are ahead in all the places.
02:29And we hope that in the same way,
02:31the final result will also come in these seats.
02:34In comparison to the general election,
02:36this election was a small exercise,
02:38a simple and small exercise,
02:40in which the government had to shut down the internet.
02:42Especially, if we see,
02:44if we talk about the big cities,
02:46what is the reason?
02:48There were only a few seats.
02:50If it was a security issue,
02:52it was easy to manage as compared to general elections.
02:54Shutting down the internet has become a common practice.
02:56Yes, Maria Sahiba,
02:58honestly, in matters of security,
03:00shutting down the mobile service,
03:02as you know, in our country,
03:04a debate has been going on for two decades.
03:06Whether it is a protest,
03:08whether it is an event of Muharram,
03:10whether it is a visit of a foreign delegation,
03:12whether it is a cricket match,
03:14whether it is an election.
03:16Now, if this has become a norm,
03:18then surely, I mean, obviously,
03:20we all want that our infrastructure and
03:22our security arrangements come to the level
03:24as it happens in foreign countries,
03:26that it is not needed.
03:28But unfortunately,
03:30security is still necessary.
03:32And it is the interior ministry
03:34who said that in Zafarwal,
03:36one of our workers,
03:38Ahmad Iqbal,
03:40from where the election was held,
03:42was killed.
03:44And even today,
03:46there have been such incidents.
03:48I am talking about the news
03:50that has been reported in the media,
03:52that there have been attacks,
03:54and especially,
03:56this is a very sad incident.
03:58I saw in the media that
04:00I think they have been arrested,
04:02they have been arrested.
04:04It is a violent crime.
04:06Surely, the law should act on it.
04:08But anyway, when the internet is shut down,
04:10then it is better for you to understand
04:12which constituency election
04:14you are fighting,
04:16that not only does the voter have a problem
04:18in coming,
04:20when his communication is cut,
04:22then in the entire election process,
04:24all kinds of voters are discouraged.
04:26Is it not a matter of concern for PMLN
04:28that if your voter is confused?
04:30It is unfortunate that
04:32this issue is raised
04:34because of security arrangements.
04:36But you are right,
04:38that for me as a candidate,
04:40on the 8th,
04:42or for any other candidate,
04:44this becomes a problem.
04:46Because you also have to
04:48contact your polling stations,
04:50you have polling agents,
04:52you have a team with you,
04:54you have to contact them,
04:56you have to do things,
04:58At the end of the day,
05:00this is a decision that
05:02the election commission
05:04primarily has an ambit.
05:06As a result of this,
05:08security matters are taken care of.
05:10We hope that in the future,
05:12there will be such circumstances in our country,
05:14whether it is elections,
05:16whether it is processions,
05:18whether it is a visit to a foreign delegation,
05:20whether it is a ticket match.
05:22We do not need to shut down
05:24mobile phones again and again
05:26because it is not at that stage yet.
05:28Mr. Kaini, I am talking about Khabar Ghumman.
05:30Before the elections on February 24,
05:32the KTG was in power,
05:34and all the responsibility
05:36was on the election commission
05:38and the KTG.
05:40Now, in Punjab,
05:42you are sitting with a heavy majority,
05:44two-thirds,
05:46and in Lahore,
05:48you saw the way the campaign took place,
05:50and now we know that
05:52there are no results.
05:54I thought very poorly on the part of PM LN
05:56that you should have
05:58made such arrangements in the future
06:00with the election commission
06:02that we are a democratic party
06:04and this democratic exercise is going on.
06:06We would like people to get a chance
06:08to vote for the political party
06:10they want to vote for.
06:12At the end of the day,
06:14there is a question mark
06:16that this happened,
06:18there was a security issue,
06:20the police did this.
06:22This is unnecessary
06:24and PM LN should have been proactive
06:26in this regard.
06:28Mr. Ghumman, I have a request.
06:30All the news that I have followed today,
06:32relatively speaking,
06:34our political environment
06:36after the elections,
06:38I did not see many issues
06:40like that.
06:42The saddest incident
06:44that you saw
06:46is the murder of Pakistan's
06:48President Moon.
06:50For example,
06:52the Sunni Pihar Council
06:54said that the form 45
06:56had already been signed
06:58by the returning or the presiding officer.
07:00Later, it was found that
07:02the Sunni Pihar Council's polling agency
07:04had also signed it.
07:06This should not have happened.
07:08The election commission said
07:10that there were some one-offs
07:12but largely no such issues.
07:14You are right,
07:16this is everyone's collective effort
07:18and it should be done openly.
07:20If you look at it today,
07:22apart from a few instances,
07:24there were no major issues.
07:26There have been some
07:28specific issues
07:30from certain groups
07:32and the media
07:34and the election commission
07:36have also noticed it.
07:38But at the end of the day,
07:40I would like to say
07:42that the government
07:44does arrange with the election commission
07:46and at the end of the day,
07:48the presiding officer
07:50and the entire attack
07:52is carried out by the election commission.
07:54Today, I would like to say
07:56that relatively speaking,
07:58it has been largely peaceful
08:00and I don't think
08:02there have been any major issues.
08:04Are you satisfied
08:06with the speed of the results?
08:08There are elections in the main cities
08:10and the results are coming
08:12as fast as you expected.
08:14Honestly,
08:16I don't want to claim anything
08:18but I have seen it on TV
08:20that the results are coming.
08:22I don't know if the media
08:24has stopped reporting
08:26but to be honest,
08:28I will call the candidates
08:30who are contesting our elections
08:32and talk to them
08:34to get a better idea
08:36of the situation.
08:38In the last election,
08:40there was a clear opinion
08:42that your voters
08:44did not come out in large numbers.
08:46This time, have you managed
08:48the angry voters to some extent?
08:50Do you think that the election campaign
08:52was carried out in a way
08:54that PMLN has achieved all its targets?
08:56The candidates who are contesting
08:58our elections this time,
09:00the context was that largely,
09:02especially in Punjab,
09:04we had won.
09:06The voters here,
09:08no matter how scared they were,
09:10they did not come out in large numbers.
09:12Our candidates were going
09:14with the same momentum.
09:16The candidates who were
09:18getting more tickets,
09:20they did their campaign.
09:22In this campaign,
09:24as you have seen,
09:26the elected members
09:28also have influence
09:30on the political activity.
09:32The on-the-ground,
09:34door-to-door activity,
09:36polling station-wise,
09:38the political situation of your area,
09:40the local groups,
09:42the demands of your electorate,
09:44keeping them in view,
09:46our candidates have made an effort.
09:48The results that are coming out
09:50so far,
09:52we can see the results of the effort.
09:54Thank you very much.
