‘Election rigging’
DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former provincial minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra has demanded that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the Speaker of the KP Assembly constitute an investigation commission to probe alleged general election 2024 rigging in the province.
Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club (PPC), Jhagra raised serious questions about the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), accusing it of halting investigations into alleged electoral tampering once key evidence started surfacing.
He claimed that his own election result and those of eight other PTI candidates were manipulated overnight during the recent by-elections. “Our Form-45s were thrown away and later returned to us via courier. In some places, our opponent’s votes were changed from 200 to 268. Polling stations were locked on the night of May 8–9, and results were changed in the presence of police and other officials,” he alleged.
Jhagra showed documents marked with yellow highlighter and claimed these as evidence of tampering. He said only two female presiding officers had recorded statements before the ECP, while male presiding officers were allegedly under pressure and refused to appear.
He also alleged that Returning Officers (ROs) and District Returning Officers (DROs) signed duplicate Form-45s, calling it a “clear violation of the Constitution.”
Criticizing the silence over a Commonwealth observer report, a PTI leader and former minister claimed the report confirms rigging but is being withheld. “We demand the release of the Commonwealth report. The nation has a right to know the truth,” he said.
Jhagra further announced plans to approach the courts and demanded the KP government act against what he called a “cruel move” to sabotage PTI’s electoral mandate.
“I urge the Speaker of the KP Assembly to form a commission to investigate this systematic fraud,” he added.
He also expressed frustration over delayed legal proceedings, saying that he had received no justice despite repeatedly seeking legal recourse. “I pay taxes not to be robbed of my democratic right, but to live in a just society,” he remarked.
