US media gives prominent coverage to Pakistan’s polls that led to PTI victory

NEW YORK, July 26 (APP):Despite headline-grabbing controversies surrounding US President Donald Trump, American print and electronic media found adequate time and space for the coverage of the Pakistani elections in which Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf emerged as the leading party putting the former cricket star on track to becoming the country’s prime minister.
There were no editorial comments so far, but most media outlets noted Pakistan’s democratic progress. At the same time, media outlets said that the results were slow in coming.
Most reports highlighted Imran Khan’s sterling leadership as captain of the Pakistan cricket team that won the World Cup in 1992.
Also noted was his tenacity in politics over the past two decades and his struggle against corruption over the past two decades.
Some of the headlines here were: ‘Imran Khan Pulls Ahead …” and “Imran Khan on the Cusp of Power” and “Former Cricket Great Wins …”
Bloomberg, an international news service, said PTI’s victory had boosted stocks as investors confidence because Imran Khan would be able to form a stable government that could address the nation’s financial issues.
A report in The New York Times said, “It is a stunning rise for an anti-corruption crusader who spent much of his political career on the fringes of Pakistani politics.
“The stock market shot up nearly 2 percent in early trading on relief that Khan was expected to be able to form a stable coalition.”
American media reports also carried allegations from Imran Khan’s critics about the delay in results and vote-rigging. But the also carried the firm rebuttal from Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob.
Yaqoob was quoted as saying that counting had been delayed by technical failures in an electronic reporting system and the tallying was conducted manually.
“There’s no conspiracy, nor any pressure in delay of the results. The delay is being caused because the result transmission system has collapsed,” Yaqoob said.
Members of Pakistani Community in New York keenly watched televisions transmissions from Pakistan and exchanged notes with each other on the successful conclusion the democratic process.