Pakistani army denies interfering in general elections to favor Imran Khan, deploy troops for "fair and free" elections | news from the world

The Pakistani army announced on Tuesday that it would deploy about 371,000 troops to ensure a "fair and free" election on July 25, denying that the vote was rigging the balance in favor of Former cricketer Imran Khan. Legislative elections have been tainted by accusations that the military will interfere in politics and muzzle the media to help Pakistan bring Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to power.

Khan, an anti-corruption and conservative crusader on national security, denied collusion with the military, which ruled the nuclear country for almost half of its history.

Military spokesman Asif Ghafoor said at a press conference that a total of 371,388 soldiers would be deployed both inside and out. polling stations, some three times more than in the last elections in 2013.

The electoral commission had asked the armed forces to help lead the polls in "a free, fair and transparent manner", and the role "We must give them the support that they asked for," said Ghafoor in the Garrison City of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

The role of the army in politics has been called into question since the Supreme Court ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017 for failing to report a monthly income of 10,000 UAE dirhams (2,723 $) from a company owned by his son. refused to receive the monthly salary and denounced his ouster as being politically motivated, often suggesting that the army was guilty.

The military denies its participation in civilian politics but ended Sharif's second term in power in 1999 during a coup d'etat.

The July elections should be the focus of a clash between Pakistan's Muslim Nawaz League of Sharif (PML-N) and Khan and his PTI party.

Ghafoor rejected the suspicions that the military favored Khan.

"We do not have a political party." Ghafoor also rejected any suggestion that the army was forcing Sharif supporters to change party

Sharif, who was sentenced last week to 10 years of imprisonment for charges related to corruption., claimed that the military and its security agency were urging his party's candidates to change their loyalty.

Sharif, who is in London for s. Taking care of his wife who is there for medical treatment, was muddled with the army when he became prime minister for the third time in 2013, in part because he challenged him for the first time. army on foreign policy, which the generals traditionally regard as their domain.