Imran Khan Claims Victory Using AI Generated Video

Uploaded on 2024-02-12 in TECHNOLOGY-Key Areas-Artificial Intelligence, GOVERNMENT-National, FREE TO VIEW

Independent candidates affiliated with the jailed Pakistani political leader Imran Khan’s party claim to have won most National Assembly seats in Pakistan’s general election, delivering a surprise victory in a vote marred by a slow count and rigging allegations after a mobile and Internet shutdown.

Those results suggested a landslide victory for ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party even as Khan himself sits in prison, ineligible to run. The same day, a convincing AI generated video video of Imran Khan appeared on social media, in which the virtual candidate claimed victory and exhorting his party supporters to celebrate victory.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, independent candidates won 98 seats so far, with 22 seats still unclaimed. The majority of the independents are affiliated with Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Mobile and Internet services in Pakistan were suspended soon after the voting started due to "deteriorating security situation". A day before the election, twin terror attacks killed at least 30 in Balochistan.

On election day itself, at least 12 people, including 10 security personnel, were killed as the forces repulsed 51 terrorist attacks aimed at disrupting the polling. As polling in Pakistan closed on the evening of Thursday 9th February, early results shocked the establishment and even some dispirited supporters of Khan who had worried that Pakistani authorities had successfully manipulated the outcome.

But in several key races, results suddenly swung toward the military-backed party, after hours of unexplained delays. Khan's PTI Party released the audio-visual message created using Artificial Intelligence and shared on his X social media account.

In the message, which is usually delivered by word through his lawyers, Khan, 71, rejected Sharif's claim to victory, congratulated his supporters on "winning" the election and urged them to celebrate and protect their vote. "I trusted that you all would come out to vote - and you honoured that trust and your massive turnout has shocked everyone," the message from the virtual Imran Khan said.

Khan has been in jail since August, and was convicted and given a lengthy sentence a few days before the Election on charges relating breaching state secrets, corruption and an unlawful marriage.

According to the PTI the publicly available totals from the polling stations did not add up with the results announced by the election commission and took their case to the high court, which ordered the election commission not to announce the winner pending further investigation. Political parties and news networks had been able to tabulate official results.

Pakistani election laws explicitly state that the “returning officer shall compile provisional results on or before 2 a.m. the day immediately following the polling day.” But for thousands of polling stations across Pakistan, results were stopped and had not come in even 24 hours after polling ended. Across the country, candidates and their supporters refused to leave polling open in new locations without official documentation of the vote, leading to tense and violent confrontations.

The changes in the official counts have caught the attention of the US State Department, which has to date broadly supported the supported Pakistan's military, which forced Kan out of office in 20122. "We join credible international and local election observers in their assessment that these elections included undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly,” a spokesman said.

He went on the say “The United States is prepared to work with the next Pakistani government, regardless of political party, to advance our shared interests.”

Reuters: Al Jazeera: CNN: The Intercept: Business Today: Business Recorder:

Times of India: @JustFP: Image: Mushtaq Hussain

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