- Party claims PML-N rigged GB’s legislative assembly poll through engineering appointments of GB’s caretaker CM, governor and CEC
Issuing a white paper, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of “massive rigging” in the recent Gilgit-Baltistan (GB)’s legislative assembly elections, claiming that the ruling party “engineered its win in the peaceful polls using state funds and influence from prime minister’s office”.
At a press conference on Thursday, PPP’s Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira produced the white paper while carries 25 major allegations of poll rigging, mainly holding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responsible for engineering the win of its party in GB polls.
Secondly, PPP has accused GB chief election commissioner of vote fraud, claiming that PML-N had not only divided voters with the help of sectarian’s outfits, but also used state machinery in its favour alongside all “unfair and illegal” means to “manipulate” the elections.
GB CM, GOVERNOR, CEC IN LINE OF FIRE:
The white paper, available with Pakistan Today, states that the first step by PML-N government was the controversial appointment of caretaker chief minister and governor of GB.
PPP claims that GB caretaker CM Sher Jahan Mir, who is a “PML-N sympathiser” and general manager of government-owned bank, KCBL, released Rs 100 million before the elections for allegedly distributing it among the mullahs of various constituencies.
Moreover, “to get the desired result”, Birjees Tahir was appointed GB governor by prime minster in “violation of his oath and articles 101 and 103 of the Constitution because Tahir is a non-resident and non-registered voter of GB”, the paper states.
In addition, according to the white paper, the appointment of former office bearer of PML-N Tahir Ali Shah as a chief election commissioner for GB was also among other “unfair means” used to “steal” the GB elections. Shah forwarded the names of polling officers affiliated with the PML-N to the ROs for appointment as polling staff, the paper claims.
SUPPORT FROM BANNED, RELIGIOUS OUTFITS:
Furthermore, the PML-N government used banned outfits and sectarian platforms to gain political support, PPP alleges.
For instance, the paper stated that in GBLA1, the PML-N candidate “managed sectarian-based referendum” allegedly with the help of banned outfits and banned religious organisations and had the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamat-e-Islami (JI) candidates “withdrawn on gun point” few days before the polling day.
Moreover, Faisal Raza Abidi was also allowed to fuel anti-PPP sentiment in GBLA1 and other constituencies of the region, the paper states, adding that the governor also backed Ludhiyanvi and Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM)’s Agha Nasir Abass while the local Ismailia council was utilised to gain political support against PPP.
Mr Kaira's white paper is as jet black peace of paper no different to that of PML-N. Neither is PPP left wing or democratic and nor is PML-N right wing and democratic. They are both petrimonial autocratic political orginisations and both are rent seeking paracites. Both use police as their mafia and bureucracy as their chattel, and both rig elections to their hearts delight depending upon the region where one or the other is ascendent and powerful. This is Pakistani democracy summed up in just three lines without publishing a white paper on the subject.
Comments are closed.