Pakistan army chief calls for freeing nation from 'anarchy and polarisation' after election

Pakistan's army chief General Syed Asim Munir said that the country needs to move on from the politics of "anarchy and polarisation", as the final results of the general elections came in.

The military has played a dominant role in the political landscape of Pakistan and several political analysts have alleged that the generals have been running the country for nearly half its history since its partition from India in 1947.

"The nation needs stable hands and a healing touch to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation, which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people," said General Syed Asim Munir, as per the statement issued by the military.

The election results on Saturday (Feb 10) showed no clear majority and the country is now likely to face political horse-trading. However, a strong performance was seen by independent candidates, who were supporting jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

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After the delayed results came in, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which enjoys the support of the army, declared victory as they said that they had the maximumnumber of seats.

"Elections are not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people," Munir was quoted as saying in the military statement.

"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," he added.

US, EU, and UK express concern over irregularities in Pakistan elections

The United States, the European Union and Britain on Friday (Feb 9) separately expressed concerns over Pakistan's electoral process in the wake of voting and appealed for an investigation into reported irregularities.

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The United States and the European Union both made statements regarding allegations of interference, which included arrests of activists and said that claims of interference, fraud and irregularities should be fully investigated.

The US State Department said Pakistan faced "undue restrictions on freedoms of expression" during the polls and also spoke about violence and attacks on media workers.

(With inputs from agencies)