Pakistan's Upcoming Election Under Scrutiny Amid Pre-Poll Rigging Charges
Voice of America
A car passes by an election billboard, ahead of Pakistan's general elections, along a road in Peshawar on Dec. 22, 2023. Munizae Jahangir, the co-chairperson at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, speaks during a news conference, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Jan. 1, 2024. FILE - Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar speaks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 2, 2023. FILE - Supporters of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party chant slogans as they gather, after the country's Election Commission disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from running for political office, during a protest in Karachi, Oct. 21, 2022. FILE - Security officers escort Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as he appeared in Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, Pakistan, May 12, 2023.
Human rights groups and independent monitors in Pakistan cast aspersions Monday on the integrity and credibility of the February 8 parliamentary elections, citing a military-backed government crackdown on a mainstream political party and increased media censorship.
FILE - A salesman explains building types to customers at a real estate show in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, Oct. 12, 2024.
FILE - The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency is seen at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, April 11, 2024. Two IAEA reports on Feb. 26, 2025, warned that Iran's stock of near-weapons-grade uranium has increased by half.
FILE - A World Food Program worker stands next to a truck carrying aid from Port Sudan to Darfur and other famine-stricken parts of Sudan, Nov. 12, 2024. The WFP announced on Feb. 26, 2025, it suspended operations in the Zamzam camp in North Darfur due to violence there.
Khartoum and Omdurman, Sudan
FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her speech during the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on Feb. 14, 2025.
Taiwanese air force fighter jets taxi for take-off during at the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Jan. 7, 2025. Taiwan dispatched forces on February 26, 2025, in response to "live-fire" drills conducted by China, Taipei's defense ministry said.
People seen at G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, Feb. 26, 2025.
In this image taken from video, Amir Ali rests his injured foot on the bed in his home in Gujranwala district, Pakistan, on Feb. 3, 2025. Ali was rescued in mid-January from a stranded migrant boat in the Atlantic Ocean. A roadside sign leading to Dhola village, Gujarat district, Pakistan, commemorates Chaudhry Atif Morsi and Chaudhry Sufyan Gorsi as martyrs, Feb. 4, 2025. The men died on a stranded boat in the Atlantic Ocean on their way from Mauritania to Spain’s Canary Islands in January. Kashif Ali, shown in this undated photo, works in boat making in Italy. He spent hundreds of dollars to get a work permit to the European country almost a decade ago. He told VOA he earns much more there than he could in Pakistan. Pakistanis are among the top three users of Eastern Mediterranean and Central Mediterranean migrant routes. In this image taken from video, Amir Ali, second from right, rests as friends look at his injured foot on Feb. 3, 2025, at his home in Gujranwala district, Pakistan. Despite Ali’s horrific experience, his friends say they want to try getting to Europe.
Firefighters work at a site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, Feb. 26, 2025.
Rescue personnel work to retrieve casualties from an overturned bus, after it lost control and fell into a ditch during its journey from Bueng Kan to Rayong, in Prachinburi province, Thailand, Feb. 26, 2025. (Prachinburi Highway District /Handout via REUTERS)
