Fawad Chaudhry, former information minister, announced that he and his “group” would boycott the upcoming general elections, calling the electoral process “fake”. In a letter, Fawad stated that “under these circumstances, my group and I announce a complete boycott of these elections”. It was not immediately clear which group he was referring to. Fawad was one of many PTI leaders who had left the party following violence in the country on May 9. He had previously stated that he was “taking a break from politics” but was later seen at the launch ceremony of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP). He has since been in custody after his arrest in a corruption case. Fawad recalled that the ECP had failed to hold elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab last year after the respective provincial assemblies had been dissolved. He detailed recent actions taken against him in the run-up to the February 8 polls and concluded that a government formed through such elections would not have a moral or legal mandate.