KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Monday rejected rigging allegations in the Feb. 8 high-stake elections, claiming that "premature and unverified" projections by media outlets created the "confusion."

Kakar said at a news conference in the capital Islamabad that the general elections were held in a “free and fair manner."

"We did not have any institutional mechanism either in fear or favor of any entity, political group, or individual," he said while responding to a series of questions about rigging allegations.

Protests and rigging allegations have marred the crucial polls, with several political parties, mainly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, challenging the results in courts and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The US, UK, and European Union have all separately expressed concerns about the electoral process, calling for an investigation into alleged irregularities.

Rejecting the foreign criticism, Kakar said: "Those who are criticizing this (electoral process), I want to ask them if their own systems are flawless."

"We don't want to criticize them for their internal flaws (in the electoral system) because that's their domestic problem. They themselves should deal with it."

"Similarly, it's our internal issue and let us handle it," he added.

In response to a query about the delay in transmitting results, he claimed that the results were compiled "within 36 hours" of polling, whereas in 2018, they were compiled after 66 hours.

Around 60 million, or approximately 47%, of nearly 129 million voters cast ballots on Thursday.

Independents backed by the PTI won 101 seats, followed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 75 and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party managed to grab 54.

The rest of the seats were won by other parties, including Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan, which got 17.

Protests continue against alleged rigging

Meanwhile, protests against alleged election rigging continued on Monday in different parts of the country, with several roads blocked and shutters down.

Major protests were held across southwestern Balochistan province, where supporters of different losing candidates staged sit-ins, blocking roads and disrupting traffic.

Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, the Karachi chief of the mainstream religiopolitical party Jamaat-e-Islami, who was elected to the Sindh provincial assembly, has announced that he will forfeit his seat in protest of alleged poll rigging.

“A PTI-backed independent candidate has won and I will not take this seat," he claimed, referring to Imran Khan’s party.

Several candidates' victories have already been challenged before the Election Commission of Pakistan and courts across the country, which have withheld results from certain constituencies.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief resigns

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq has resigned as party head after accepting the polls’ defeat.

In a post on X, Haq, a former Senator, said he "accepted the responsibility for defeat."

In a related development, Jehangir Taeen, a former close aide to Imran Khan and head of his Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, has announced to quit politics, accepting his party's defeat in Thursday's polls.