PTI’s Shoaib Shaheen wants CJP to take suo motu notice of ‘rigging’ in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Amid allegations of manipulation of results in the February 8 elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has urged Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to take suo moto notice over the alleged rigging in the polls, The News reported Sunday.

In a letter addressed to the CJP, PTI spokesperson Shoaib Shaheen has sought the apex judge’s action over alleged rigging in NA-47 and NA-48 constituencies which, according to him, will prove to be a first drop of rain for supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law, ensuring fundamental rights as well promoting democracy in the country.

The February 8 polls have been marred by allegations of rigging with the PTI, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and others complaining of fraud results in various constituencies across the country.

A day earlier, Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha made shocking revelations of abetting large-scale electoral rigging while hurling serious allegations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and the CJP.

“We converted the losers into winners with a 50,000 votes margin,” he said during a press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium while tendering his resignation and surrendering himself before the authorities.

Reacting to the accusations, CJP Isa demanded evidence of his involvement in the rigging of the February 8 elections.

“You level baseless allegations. There is no truth to it nor is evidence presented,” the top judge said in a statement.

Shaheen, in his letter to the chief justice, narrated the details of alleged rigging in the NA-47 constituency stressing that as per Form 45, he secured 104,578 votes to win by a margin of 53,000 votes.

However, he underscored that in Form 47, he was declared invalid with only 86,794 votes whereas Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was declared successful with 101,397 votes.

“Although I had secured the lead with 104,577 votes according to Form 45 while the said candidate got only 51,613 votes,” Shaheen contended, adding that the same form is kept by all 45 contending candidates, including Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Kashif Chaudhary and Hafiz Khawar Ikhlas and others

“After verifying Form 45, it should be ordered to issue Form 47 and final result and notification in the light thereof and it should also be ordered that the person bringing or using the tampered document will go to jail and this exercise can be done in just three days,” he said.

Furthermore, he stressed that this verification can be done by every district and session judge, who can be assisted by additional sessions judges and senior civil judges as well.

Lamenting that there are question marks on the enforcement of basic human rights and especially the sanctity and honour of the vote where billions of rupees were spent on elections, he said: “The right to vote has become a mere spectacle among the common citizens and if this is not addressed in time, anarchy will spread inside Pakistan,” the PTI leader concluded.