In order to address the restrictions, PPP created the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) under the leadership of Ameen Faheem, to contest the elections on its behalf.

The emergence of the PML-Q marked the beginning of multi-party politics in the country, bringing an end to the decade-long two-party system between the PPP and PML-N.

The newly formed PML-Q - referred to as King's party due to President Musharraf's support - won the highest number of seats in the National Assembly.

In opposition to the liberal regime of Musharraf, Islamist parties had organised themselves into the right-wing alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) prior to elections.

At the provincial level, PPPP emerged as the largest party in Sindh, PML-Q was triumphant in Punjab, whereas MMA won the most seats in NWFP and Balochistan.

[3] Many citizens reportedly did not receive their new cards by the 1 June deadline, leading to accusations that authorities had withheld them from certain groups or planned to issue them selectively on election day.

Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, cited instances where supporters of the government allegedly produced counterfeit cards at home.

[3] In Larkana, a police investigation reportedly revealed a ring that produced 29,000 fake cards, and candidates in Quetta held protests over alleged ID-card fraud.

[2] However, an exception was made for religious scholars, equating madrassah certificates with graduate degrees, thereby favoring the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance and introducing a bias in candidate eligibility.