WASHINTON
\nWith the February 8 polls marred by allegations of rigging and result manipulation, United States Senator Chris Van Hollen has called on the Pakistani authorities to \u201cfully investigate allegations of fraud and electoral interference\u201d.
\nIn a letter addressed to Pakistan\u2019s ambassador to the US Masood Khan, the lawmaker underscored that the polls were tainted by claims of unfair restrictions on political expression and rigging.
\nHis letter comes as various political parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have been decrying mass rigging and result manipulation in the general elections.
\nPTI\u2019s Sher Afzal Marwat moved the Supreme Court under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution to halt the process of formation of federal and provincial governments, further praying the court to set aside Form 47 of all national and provincial constituencies, prepared in violation of Section 13 (3) of the Election Act 2017, reported The News.
\nDoubts over the polls were further exacerbated by the revelations made by now-former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaqat Ali Chatha, who last week, tendered his resignation out of \u201cguilty conscience\u201d for abetting large-scale electoral rigging in the garrison city further raising the political mercury in the country.
\nThe former bureaucrat has since then retracted his allegations while stressing that his actions were carried out with the PTI, who had also given him \u201clucrative positions in future\u201d.
\nMeanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan has also written to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asking the global lender to hold an audit of the election results before approving any new loan for Islamabad.
\nSenator Hollen\u2019s letter further underscores that any new government will struggle to bring the nation together without a credible investigation as the country requires a strong government with the people\u2019s backing to make difficult but necessary decisions in light of the prevailing economic and security challenges.
\n\u201cRespecting the decision of the Pakistani people, expressed through their votes, is the only way a new government will be empowered to tackle issues facing Pakistan such as negotiating a new IMF agreement,\u201d the letter reads.
\nEarlier this week, Washington had called on Islamabad to ensure a full and transparent investigation of \u201cany claims of interference or fraud\u201d in the February 8 general elections as per Pakistani laws and procedures.
\nIn a statement, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller called for a probe when he was asked about the explosive rigging allegations made by Chatha.
\n\u201cAny claims of interference or fraud should be fully and transparently investigated in accordance with Pakistan\u2019s own laws and procedures. And that, of course, includes this claim as well,\u201d Miller responded.
\nWhen the spokesperson was asked about the US stance on respecting the PTI\u2019s mandate, Miller said that the formation of a new government was an \u201cinternal\u201d Pakistani matter.
\n\u201cBut \u2014 so that\u2019s a matter that I will leave to Pakistan. But as I said, when it comes to the \u2014 any claims of interference or allegations of irregularities, we want to see those fully investigated,\u201d said the spokesperson.=DNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINTON With the February 8 polls marred by allegations of rigging and result manipulation, United States Senator Chris Van Hollen has called on the Pakistani authorities to \u201cfully investigate allegations of fraud and electoral interference\u201d. In a letter addressed to Pakistan\u2019s ambassador to the US Masood Khan, the lawmaker underscored that the polls were tainted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-389343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n