The provincial government has suspended mobile and internet services in Quetta, Balochistan’s capital, following a call for a shutter-down strike by the Jamiat Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
The strike was announced in protest against alleged "rigging" in the re-polling for Balochistan Assembly’s constituency PB-45, Quetta VIII.
JUI-F’s provincial leader declared that the protest would continue until their demands for "justice" are met. The protest comes after the unofficial results showed that Ali Madad Khattak of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won the re-polling in PB-45, securing 6,883 votes.
In second place was Nasarullah Zayrai from the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), with 4,122 votes, while JUI-F's Usman Pirkani came third with 3,731 votes.
Previously, the seat was held by Haji Ali Madad Jattak of the PPP. In January, the Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal challenging the decision of the election tribunal to recount votes at 15 polling stations in the same constituency.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Shahid Waheed, upheld the election tribunal’s order for a recount, rejecting the appeal filed by Mir Ali Madad Jatak, the PPP candidate. The tribunal had found discrepancies in the vote count at 15 polling stations, and the court confirmed that a recount was necessary.
The election tribunal’s investigation revealed that 4,912 votes were added in favor of Jatak through Form 45, while the vote count for his opponent, Mir Muhammad Usman, remained unchanged at 1,623 votes. The tribunal also reported that fraud was committed in Form 45 at several polling stations.
The Supreme Court’s judgment, delivered in November 2024, supported the election tribunal’s findings and dismissed Jatak’s appeal. The ruling has further fueled the ongoing protests in the region.