Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over its allegations of rigging in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections has mocked them by asking, “What time is the doomsday”.?
Taking to X, Maryam Nawaz accused the PPP of being skilled in carrying out what she described as “subtle electoral manipulation” while simultaneously complaining about rigging.
“The Peoples Party, which is a master of the subtle art of rigging, is crying about rigging. What time is doomsday?” she wrote in Urdu.
Her remarks came after PPP leaders raised concerns about alleged irregularities during polling in Mirpur Division.
The party accused its political opponents of buying votes, influencing the electoral process and forcing its polling agents out of some polling stations.
Maryam Nawaz and other PML-N leaders rejected the allegations, arguing that the PPP was already in power in Azad Kashmir and controlled the regional administration at the time of the elections.
The Punjab chief minister urged the PPP to accept the electoral outcome and focus on its political narrative, governance record and performance instead of levelling allegations against the PML-N.
Earlier PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had dismissed claims that he personally targeted Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, saying he did not even mention her aircraft and deliberately avoided drawing comparisons that could have turned the debate into a personal one.
Responding to remarks by Maryam Nawaz that he had gone “below the belt” by criticising people older than him, Bilawal said his politics has always focused on policy and governance rather than personalities.
The exchange of hot words follows the PML-N’s strong performance in the first phase of the AJK elections held in Mirpur Division, further intensifying political tensions between the two parties ahead of the remaining phases.
Maryam Nawaz advises Bilawal to focus on betterment of Sindh
