Islamabad
\nThe PTI on Sunday demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe the rigging allegations made by the former Rawalpindi commissioner.
\nAnother layer of controversy was added to the already disputed Feb 8 elections on Saturday after Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of involvement in \u2018rigging\u2019 \u2014 a claim denied by the electoral watchdog and the top judge.
\nThese allegations came almost a week after the polls on a day when PTI and other political parties decided to kick-start their nationwide anti-rigging campaign, claiming they were deprived of their mandate through \u201cmassive rigging\u201d.
\nThe commissioner, who has now been transferred to the Services and General Administration Department (SGAD) in Lahore, was scheduled to hold a press conference regarding the Pakistan Super League (PSL) arrangements at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. But instead of the presser, he had an informal chat with reporters in which he made the startling claims.
\nAccording to Chattha, he was disclosing the information about alleged irregularities in the election on the call of his conscience. He also accused CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja and Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of being a part of the \u201crigging plan\u201d.
\nHe said that he had decided to resign and took responsibility for supervising the theft of public mandate by changing the results of 13 National Assembly constituencies in six districts of Rawalpindi Division.
\nHe said that he had decided to resign and took responsibility for supervising the theft of public mandate by changing the results of 13 National Assembly constituencies in six districts of Rawalpindi Division. Chattha alleged the candidates who were \u201closing\u201d the elections \u201cwere made to win\u201d and that the process to justify the manipulated results was still going in \u201can organised manner at some offices\u201d.
\nBoth the CJP and the ECP rejected the allegations, with the former saying the Supreme Court only dealt with election-related petitions.
\nIn a press conference in Islamabad today, PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan said that the party had \u201cstruggled\u201d for elections in the country. He said that the party made efforts for having free, fair and timely elections in the country where everyone was granted a level-playing field.
\nHe then lamented how efforts were made to keep the party out of the electoral arena. \u201cBut you all saw how on Feb 8 people heeded Imran Khan\u2019s call and turned out in huge numbers to vote.,\u201d he said.
\nGohar said that the PTI had won \u201c180 seats\u201d in the National Assembly; 42 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 115 in Punjab, 16 in Sindh, and four in Balochistan.
\nHowever, he went on to say that the party\u2019s success was not reflected in the results of the Feb 8. \u201cWe were given one seat in Balochistan, three are due. In Sindh, we did not get a single seat, they are all due. In Punjab, around 50 seats are due.\u201d
\nHe further asserted that after the votes cast on Feb 8 were counted, there was a deliberate delay in announcing the provisional results.
\n\u201cAn our majority in Punjab was diluted. Our majority in Sindh removed and the seats in Balochistan were also reduced. This is why, from day one, we have only one demand \u2014 that results be declared in accordance with the Form 45.\u201d
\nCommenting on the allegations by Chattha, Gohar said the remarks had corroborated what the party had been saying all along.
\n\u201cThis is the first time a commissioner is raising his voice according to his conscience. And he said that he made sure candidates who lost were made to win while those who won were made to lose. This corroborates what we have been saying,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThat is why the PTI demands that a judicial commission is formed and an inquiry is conducted. And not just an inquiry, but those [involved] should be made to join the inquiry,\u201d he said, adding that the report of such an inquiry should also be shared with the people.
\nIn response to a question, Gohar asserted that the party was not calling for the resignation of the chief justice.
\nOmar Ayub Khan, the PTI\u2019s candidate for prime minister, asserted that the party would form governments in the Centre and the provinces. He recalled how some had commented that the party would not have candidates or polling agents for the elections.
\n\u201cWe had the highest number of candidates who filed their nomination papers, polling agents were also present [\u2026] and PTI won 180 [NA] seats,\u201d he said.
\nOmar said that the objective of party-backed candidates who won the Feb 8 polls would be to go to the assemblies and take steps for the release of Imran, Bushra Bibi, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pervez Elahi as well as women workers and activists.
\nCommenting on Chattha\u2019s remarks, Omar noted that a commissioner was a \u201cvery important position\u201d. He called for a fresh Form 47 to be issued in accordance with the results calculated in the Form 45.
\nHe further said that the \u201crigging\u201d carried out against the party was the \u201cmother of all rigging\u201d and was rejected by the party.
\nRegarding Chattha\u2019s claims, Omar said that a judicial inquiry should be conducted involving independent judges. \u201cAnd those who have been named by the Rawalpindi commissioner should not be a part of this inquiry.\u201d
\nNoting that CJP Isa had been named, he called on the top judge to \u201cnot become a part of the Supreme Court bench\u201d. He further said that there should be a free and fair judicial inquiry so that the people could see that one\u2019s mandate could not be stolen.
\nIn response to a question, he reiterated that the party desired an independent inquiry and that those \u201caccused\u201d by Chattha should not part of this inquiry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad The PTI on Sunday demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe the rigging allegations made by the former Rawalpindi commissioner. Another layer of controversy was added to the already disputed Feb 8 elections on Saturday after Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Chief Justice Qazi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-387938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n