Islamabad - Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman stood by his words to accept judicial commission report on poll rigging.
Published: Mon 27 Jul 2015, 12:00 AM
Last updated: Mon 27 Jul 2015, 10:32 AM
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman, Imran Khan, has said that though he was disappointed by the report of the inquiry commission set up to probe rigging charges in 2013 general elections, he stood by his words to accept its conclusions.
"The commission did not support our contention that the polls were massively manipulated," Imran said in his first response to the report of the commission which rejected his allegations that there was systematic rigging to benefit the Pakistan Muslim League-N.
He, however, said the commission's finding says that the election were "largely fair and held legally". By implication these were not entirely fair and legally, he said. Imran said the commission has made at least 40 observations against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) but ignored them as "lapses" instead of making them part of their findings.
He said the report does acknowledge that 35 per cent ballot bags were found without the key legal condition of Form 15.
Similarly, about 25 million ballots could not be verifies, the PTI chief said.
"This number is more than enough to nullify the polls. The commission was supposed to undertake inquisition into the allegations through a committee comprising members from intelligence agencies and police which it did not, " he said.
"We think the commission job is half done," the PTI chief said.
To demands by PML-N to apologise and seek forgiveness, Imran said it is not him but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who should apologise over the judicial commission's report, as all political parties are in agreement that there was rigging during the 2013 general elections.
Imran lashed out at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), quoting the report that "ECP had no idea of how the elections were being conducted".
At the news conference Imran lauded the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Nasirul Mulk, and two other members saying they conducted themselves admirably.
"I had been attending the proceedings in the commission and felt proud that we have such honest and professionally sound judges," he added.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has demanded the formation of a parliamentary commission to probe the conspiracy behind the "dharnas" (sit-ins) carried out by Imran for 126 days paralysing the government and the undermining the economy.
- news@khaleejtimes.com
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