BAJAUR: Following the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP’s) decision to recount the votes, the three candidates of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) from PK-17, PK-20, and PK-21 constituencies lost their seats in the general election 2024.

The three JI candidates—Aizaz Ul Malik representing PK-17, Waheed Gul from PK-20, and Sardar Khan from PK-21— initially secured victories in their respective constituencies. However, following a recount ordered by the ECP, they ultimately faced defeat.

As per the latest result, Ubaid Ur Rehman, running as an independent candidate, secured victory in PK-17.

Similarly, Anwar Zeb Khan, also an independent candidate, clinched the seat for PK-20 with 12,903 votes, and as per the result from the PK-21 constituency, Ajmal Khan, an independent candidate emerged victorious by securing 16,712 votes.

In another development, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto ruled out the possibility of becoming part of any coalition government, saying that his party will vote for the prime minister candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but sit in opposition.

“The PPP has decided that we are unable or not in a position to join federal government ourselves, nor are we interested in taking ministries in such a setup,” the party chairman said while addressing a press conference following a two-day-long Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.

Bilawal Bhutto acknowledged that the reality was that his party did not have a mandate to form a government in the Centre. “Due to this, I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of the prime minister of Pakistan,” he said, noting that PML-N and the independents have greater numbers.