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Witnesses tell Congress Pakistan’s 2024 election was “neither free nor fair,” describe judicial capture and military trials of civilians
Summary
Witnesses at a congressional hearing said Pakistan’s February 8, 2024, elections were rigged, described changes to judicial appointment rules they said subordinated the courts to the executive and alleged mass use of military courts and secret trials that produced mass convictions of political opponents.
Sadiq Amini, a witness testifying before the commission, told members, “Pakistan’s 2024 elections were neither free nor fair.” He described months-long manipulation of the vote, including restrictions on party symbols, rejected nomination papers, and candidates forced to run as independents.
Amini and other witnesses told the commission why U.S. policymakers should care: they said the alleged electoral manipulation was followed by changes to judicial appointments and the use of special military tribunals that they described as tools to silence dissent and criminalize opponents.
Amini said the manipulation included “votes results were all changed” in the hours after polls closed, and he described ballot tallies that exceeded the number of registered voters in some constituencies. He told the commission the 2024 vote-counting process produced results that…
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