— Says govt rewarding Sethi for ‘rigging’ in polls
ISLAMABAD
Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Tuesday declared Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) role ‘shameful’ for failing to fulfil its responsibility in general elections of May 2013 and following by-elections.
Khan was talking to media outside the Supreme Court. He said free and fair elections work as a backbone to democracy.
“How the democracy can be strengthened without free and fair elections in Pakistan, no one would have rigged in by-elections had the election riggers and fake voters of general elections were punished,” he added.
The PTI chief said that the apex court now remains his only hope as it is expected to order a recounting of votes in at least two of the four constituencies.
Khan lamented over the role of the election tribunals.
“The election tribunals did not play their role effectively and despite reports of rigging cases in various constituencies of Punjab and Karachi were not heard deliberately.”
“Even the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry disappointed me,” said Khan.
The humanitarian- cum-politician Khan told the media reporters that his party wants a recount in order to expose all those characters that aided the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) in poll rigging, including the individual responsible for the ’35 punctures’ in the elections.
The term ‘35 punctures’ was coined by Khan for the alleged rigging in 35 constituencies. His party maintains it has proofs that the then interim chief minister of Punjab Najam Sethi was involved in the large-scale rigging in almost three dozen constituencies of the province during May 2013 general elections.
Khan termed Sethi’s appointment to the chairmanship of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as ‘purely a drama’ and alleged that the government has rewarded Sethi for his services of rigging the elections.