Stop crying, accept AJK polls results with 'open heart', Maryam hits back at Bilawal

• Maryam urges PPP to accept AJK election defeat gracefully.
• Punjab CM rejects rigging allegations against PML-N.
• People, not state, decide election results: Punjab CM.

Responding to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's tirade, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz urged the party to accept its defeat in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections "with an open heart" instead of levelling rigging allegations.

In a video statement, the Punjab CM said: "Crying will not help. The PPP should have accepted its defeat [in AJK polls] with an open heart."

Her remarks come hours after PPP’s Bilawal criticised PML-N and the conduct of the AJK elections, saying that the state must decide whether national interest or the PML-N interest was more important.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Muzaffarabad earlier in the day, Bilawal questioned whether the situation in Azad Kashmir could be described as democracy. He said PPP candidates had secured a majority in line with the public's votes and expectations.

In the first phase of the elections, the PML-N secured victory in nine constituencies of the AJK Legislative Assembly elections, according to unofficial and provisional results, while the PPP won four seats of the total 13 constituencies across Mirpur.

Punjab chief minister, in the video statement issued today, rejected allegations of rigging, saying there was no evidence of rigging in polls against PML-N candidates.

"The decision in an election is made by the people, not by the state," she said, adding that those raising allegations of rigging were “themselves involved in electoral malpractice.”

The chief minister said political parties should accept the public mandate to strengthen democracy. She urged the PPP to review its performance and carry out self-accountability.

Maryam further said Sindh had remained under PPP rule for 17 years, while advising the PPP-led Sindh govt to improve sanitation, law and order, and road infrastructure in the province.

She also criticised the PPP's election campaign, saying Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had failed to present the Sindh government's performance or outline a roadmap for the future.

“People in AJK were demanding better healthcare facilities, while those whose own roads are broken could not improve roads in AJK,” Maryam added.

She said the PML-N was grateful to the people for supporting the party in the first phase of the AJK elections.

"The people have voted for development," she said, adding that the PML-N would fulfil the promises made to the people of AJK.

Ministers slam PPP over rigging allegations

Separately, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal also slammed the PPP chief for levelling rigging allegations against the AJK polls, describing the claims "undemocratic and inappropriate".

Addressing a press conference alongside Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, Iqbal described the PML-N's victory as a true mandate.

He said that the overwhelming majority of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir believed in peaceful and democratic politics.

Iqbal emphasised that the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir had chosen to support the PML-N over the PPP after assessing the performance of both parties in the provinces they govern.

Commenting on the recent electoral contests, Iqbal noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had congratulated the PPP on its victory in Gilgit-Baltistan.

He congratulated the AJK election authorities and law enforcement agencies for ensuring the smooth, peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections across Mirpur Division.