Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf routed in polls; PPP suffers huge setback

ISLAMABAD: In an embarrassing setback to Pakistan Peoples Party that ruled the country since 2008, former Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf lost the election along with his predecessor Yusuf Raza Gilani's two sons.

Ashraf has suffered a humiliating defeat in NA-51 (Rawalpindi-II), Geo News reported.

As per unofficial and initial results, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Raja Mohammad Javed Ikhlas won the seat.

Ikhlas drew 82,339 while Raja Pervez Ashraf was way down with 23,233 votes received.

Similarly, Gilani's both sons, Ali Musa Gilani and Abdul Qadir Gilani, have lost in polls from their Multan constituencies.

Abdul was kidnapped by suspected Taliban terrorists last week while he was campaigning.

Earlier, a Pakistani court had disqualified Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Going by the unofficial results, the PPP - which ruled the country for the last five years - has faced a major setback and has been effectively confined to Sindh.

As per available trends, PPP is likely to come a distant third but could play an important role in the government formation if PML-N fails to get a simple majority in the 342 seat strong National Assembly.

Top leaders of the party, including former Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, lost their seats in the largest province of the country, Punjab.