Jailed Imran Khan uses AI video to claim victory in Pakistan election – as army chief says nation needs ‘stable hands’
Jailed former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has claimed victory for his supporters in the country’s general election – via a video generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
The clip of the former cricket star was uploaded on social media on Friday just hours after his rival Nawaz Sharif also claimed to have won despite vote counting continuing.
Many candidates from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were forced to stand as independents in the election after an alleged crackdown which saw senior party figures jailed and their campaigning activities restricted.
In the video, Khan is heard telling independent candidates to celebrate their win, while he also rejects Sharif’s declaration of victory.
“You have laid the foundation for your genuine freedom by voting yesterday,” he is heard saying. Sharif is also referred to as a “dishonourable man” for claiming victory.
With nearly 90% of the results in on Friday night, independent candidates backed by Khan’s PTI party had won 95 seats, while Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML) had secured 66 seats.
A total of 169 seats are required for a majority in the 336-seat assembly. Some 265 seats were up for grabs in Thursday’s poll.
It comes as Pakistan’s army chief General Syed Asim Munir congratulated the country for the “successful conduct” of its election, saying the nation needed “stable hands” to move on from the politics of “anarchy and polarisation”.
He said in a statement: “Elections are not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people.
“Political leadership and their workers should rise above self-interests and synergise efforts in governing and serving the people which is perhaps the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful.
“As the people of Pakistan have reposed their combined trust in the Constitution of Pakistan, it is now incumbent upon all political parties to reciprocate the same with political maturity and unity.”
General Syed Asim Munir. Pic: AP
The EU, UK and US have all cast doubt over the integrity of the vote, urging a probe into reported irregularities.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said there were “serious concerns” about the “fairness and lack of inclusivity of the elections” amid accusations of military interference and vote-rigging.
In a statement on Friday night, he added: “We regret that not all parties were formally permitted to contest the elections and that legal processes were used to prevent some political leaders from participation”.
During the election campaign, police blocked the PTI from holding rallies and opening offices, while the party was also banned from using its symbol – a cricket bat – to help illiterate voters find it on ballot papers.
Khan and other senior PTI figures were also jailed on what they claim were politically-motivated charges.
Read more: Pakistan election: A prisoner, a kingmaker and an unexpected return
‘We don’t have enough of a majority’
After declaring victory on Friday, Sharif told reporters his younger brother, fellow former leader Shehbaz Sharif, would hold talks with other party leaders to discuss a way forward – just a day after he rejected the idea of joining forces with any of his rivals.
He admitted: “We don’t have enough of a majority to form a government without the support of others and we invite allies to join the coalition so we can make joint efforts to pull Pakistan out of its problems.”
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Sky’s Cordelia Lynch has the latest as the results in the Pakistan elections come in
The former prime minister also urged victorious independent candidates to enter his potential coalition.
“I don’t want to fight with those who are in the mood for fighting,” he said. “We will have to sit together to settle all matters.”
He said the meetings would include talks with Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of assassinated ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and father of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party – which is in third place so far with 51 seats.
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Polling officers count ballots in Karachi.
Pic: Reuters
‘Interference in electoral process’
Sharif, who has been prime minister of Pakistan three times previously, returned to the country in October after four years of self-imposed exile, including time in London, to avoid serving several prison sentences.
But within weeks of his return, his convictions were overturned, leaving him free to seek a fourth term.
The election was held amid tight security, with thousands of troops deployed on the streets and at polling stations across the country.
Pakistan’s borders with Iran and Afghanistan were also temporarily closed as security was stepped up.
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‘Democracy in Pakistan is under scrutiny’
Police also said two people were killed and six were injured in the northwest district of Shangla after clashes broke out between Khan supporters and officers.
The US state department said the election had been carried out amid a backdrop of restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
Spokesperson Matthew Miller added: “We are concerned about allegations of interference in the electoral process.”
The European Union also called on authorities to ensure “a timely and full investigation” of all reported election irregularities.
This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media.
The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.
“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’
It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.
He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.
Read more:
The bunker buster bomb which could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions
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Nuclear sites targeted in Iran
There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.
It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.
His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.
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Trump: ‘I want an end, not a ceasefire’
This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.
Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.
These are truly tense and chaotic times.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
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