"I sincerely believe in the sanctity of Pakistan Army," says Khwaja Saad Rafique. PHOTO: FILE
The ruling party rejected PTI’s offer.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that PML-N is ready to recount votes and verify records, but PTI’s request for a thumb impression audit in the constituencies is not acceptable.
Rafique said that the ink used by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for thumb impressions during the elections was of low quality.
He suggested that the PTI, after they conduct their protest, should sit down with the government and decide on a procedure to identify rigging.
Rafique also said that a fact-finding commission should investigate rigging.
“We will appear before the commission as the accused,” he said. “ECP’s mistake cannot be shifted onto our shoulders.”
PTI rejected the suggestion made by PML-N to form a fact-finding committee.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rafique himself had suggested that eight constituencies be investigated.
Vice-Chairperson PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that in the past such committees have failed to move beyond two fruitless meetings.
During the proceedings, Qureshi appealed to the people to take part in PTI’s protest on May 11.
He also said, "We were consulted for the appointment of chief election commissioner but PTI was not consulted on the appointment of four provincial commissioners of the commission.”
He also said that the resignation of former Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ibrahim should be investigated.
Qureshi added that despite being provided evidence, ECP was not ready to file a comprehensive reply to the Supreme Court on PTI’s petition regarding rigging.
“We want to know why ECP was not punished for using fake magnetic ink during elections,” Qureshi said.
COMMENTS (66)
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Why is the minister of railway so involved in this and why the heck do we even have a minister for railway?????
@Hamza: Anyone with half a brain who went to vote and saw the ensuing idiocy on GEO can tell that there was massive rigging in these general elections. All analysts and reporters have accepted and openly advised on it too... only the blind can not see.
Definitely PTI was and will be prevented in many ways and form to gain substantial power in Pakistan. The established elites with power don't like that party in particular in gaining power as they have the immense capacity, ability like a tsunami to change things forever. Long live PTI. Power to the the hard working people.
PML-N all the way.
@Talha: I think you didn't hear the speech, both parties agreed that votes cannot be verified because of lo quality ink.
PML-N says no because PML-N's rigging in the elections and the real facts of getting the majority seats in national assembly shall be disclosed/displayed before the nation......
shame for paid PTI bashers.
I feel pity of PTI haters who are writing hate comments. They should know that PTI has failed to provide even a single proof of rigging in different Tribunals. Problem is that they are habitual of making noise and they are doing so. Very immature and selfish politics of Imran Khan. PTI will get its next defeat in the elections of year 2018.
Imran is trying to be representative of youth at the age of 61. He can never. He got a chance to prove himself in KPK but he is failed so far. There is nothing good in KPK. He is wasting time in non-issues. He wants to make his workers busy in protesting instead of doing some constructive thing. I am 200% sure that they will lose even KPK in next elections.
Imran supported Musharraf who got 90% votes in his referendum. It was Imran who was supporting him. Where was Imran's ideology at that time? Imran has done nothing positive for Pakistan. He is an enemy of Pakistan. His only motive is to make unrest in the country so that country cannot progress.
I voted for PTI and I am ashamed of it. I shall never do this mistake again. Imran is a selfish and Liar politician. He has taken so much U turns. No trust on him and shame for him.
Imran should realize that General Pasha has retired who helped PTI in every aspect for preparation of 2013 elections.
why not thumb impression verification! how fact finding committee find the rigging facts, the batter way use of modern technology, good step IK we are with you.
PTI ! with all sorts of technology, brain bank and resources at your disposal, why did you not bother to check ink before or even during elections? and why haven't you sued that baby face Fakhro so far? Characters like him are responsible for our 'remarkable' journey towards democrazy.
Entire youth is with Nawaz Sharif. Imran Khan can do nothing except making baseless noise.
I appreciate the efforts of Nawaz Sharif for revival of country's economy. Stock Exchange is performing well. Many new projects for production of electricity have been initiated. Dollar is coming down gradually. Imran wants to derail all the efforts. Shame for Imran Khan.
The reason Saad Rafique is jumping up and down about this whole thing is because he and his family cheated the most in the past election and stuffed the ballot box with fake votes.
Why Mr. saad rafique is speaking a lot when PTI demands thumb impression verification??? And some peoples said that PTI may derail democracy. I have a question that where is democracy? As we know that democracy is that all peoples have right to speak even he is poor or rich. A parliment will be fill of all types of peoples (poor and rich). Please tell me the name of this parlimentian who have No wealth No bank balance and No business other then Jamshaid dasti. The ex cheif justice(iftekhar) has time to take somoto actions of little things during his time and why he take action and more PTI entered more than 60 petetions against rigging but cheif justice has no time for this. Why?? >>Is our state is democratic where peoples have no right? >>Is our state is democratic where only two parties ruling from many decades. >>Is our state is democratic where thousands of cases are pending in courts from many years but justices have no time to give justice to peoples. >>Is our state is democratic where we have no facilities in hospitals. >>Is our state is democratic where we have No jobs for poors. >>Is our state is democratic where we have no good institutes for education. >>Is our state is democratic where peoples have no food to eat and peoples are died with hunger in thar. >>Is our state is democratic where killers have full freedom as remond devis and killer of shahzaib. And If this is democracy than shame on democracy. And some peoples saying that PTI's performance is not good In "KPK" For their information, PTI has started
No matter what so ever it is , "let the cat of PTI come out of sack". PTI is utter failure in KPK and will be failure in future. Thanks to Allah that PTI lost the last general election "blessing in disguise". Pakistan Zindabad, Pakistan Paindabad.
THIS WHO TOOK OATH FROM MUSHRSFF ,PML N ARE THIEF.
hahahaha...rigger rafiqs bluff called. Pmln will do anything but allow thumbprint verification.
@khalid...that is what was supposed to happened...but in many stations that did not happened. Results were not given to the polling agent and ballot boxes were taken elsewhere to be counted. All this is documented and evidence has been provided to courts and ecp
@hamza...see comment above
@simplepakistani...dont worry...pti are not going to destabalise the govt. Given nawaz's past record....he is capable of doing that himself!
Nawaz Sharif and PML-N are the only hope for Pakistan. They will make Pakistan Asian tiger IA. PTI allegations are baseless.
People need to understand that if a party comes into power with the help of rigging, then they have no sincerity in solving the country's problems. PMLN is fearful which is why they are not agreeing to PTI's request. Woe to this type of 'democracy'.
Allah bless Pakistan. Allah bless Nawaz Sharif. Aameen.
The biggest threat for Pakistan and democracy is Imran Khan. I believe that he is an enemy of Pakistan. May 2013 were quite free and fair. Imran is making the noise because public rejected him.
No government should rule after rigging elections. If PML-N is clean they should help clean the system. Their stubbornness speaks volumes about their nervousness about rigging. I am even surprised to see people here claiming rigging to be a non-issue. We Pakistanis should be thankful that Allah has given courage to IK to take a stand on this issue. Some one has to do it. Do we really think PML-N and PPP are going to work for free and fair elections?
All that haters saying IK is wasting time in this useless conflict are so naive. It is a basic right to have crystal clear electoral process which we don't have and if we keep on accepting the rigged elections like we had last year, this trend will continue forever. Moreover, its his genuine concern, why Government denying IK his fundamental right is so evident; they rigged May 2011 elections like a boss.
I don't understand where people come up with statements like "corruption is at its peak in kpk". I mean do you people live under a rock have you seen the sindh government or do you remember the ANP government? You can support whoever you want but at least don't make stuff up and make yourself a liar.
Lolz.
Government has no courage to face reality. Giving such comments is joke to democracy.If they defend their mandate through development projects then the should also acquit Musharaf from 12 Oct 1999 act.
Pmln is master of making committees who do nothing other acting to do something.
Those who are indulging and enjoying IK bashing, at least go through the FAFEN report which has called this as the most rigged election since 1977. Bagsful of evidence has been provided in the shape of video footages, thumb impressions not matching, deliberate use of non-magnetic ink by the election commision, votes added by the ROs after the lists have been finalised by ECP, shifting of polling stations at the last minute and disenfranchising voters, alarmingly high percentage of rejected votes never witnessed in our electoral history, scores of ballot papers found in bins, stuffing of ballot boxes etc etc etc. And you want to brush it all under the carpet because "democracy is endangered". We better have no democracy then having this kind of Kleptocracy.What other "evidence" are you looking for. Perhaps the only evidence you think is admissible, if the winning candidate confesses him self
IK is an agent of jews who do not want to see political stability in Pakistan. IK should think beyond his personality.
Imran lacks sportsman spirit. He does not want to see a prosperous Pakistan. Stock market is going very good since the start of PML-n era. Everything will be affected due to dirty politics of PTI.
A U-Turn by Saad and PML-N.
If magnetic ink is not used then election commissioners should be punished for it. It should be made sure that in all next elections magnetic ink is used.
Why criticize Imran, why not the others PML(N) & Co (mean ECP, Ex-chief justice....)
In pakistan if u have money , than u have many opportunities even to get membership of NAtional Assembly .. Nothing can happen what they did they did. Pak is poor and corrupt just accept it. Dont cry over it.
It's fact that all parties are alleging rigging It's a fact that ecp confirmed on election day that they could not hold free and fair elections. It's a fact that more then 400 petition are collecting dust at election tribunals when these tribunals were bound to decide cases in 120 days It's a fact and evidence is available that more votes were cast then actual voters So no matter what the PML N says Dear Pakistan it's a fact the elections were rigged and midterm elections are only constitutional way to restore Democracy Long Live Pakistan
PTI's demand of thumb impression verification is justified, this is their democratic right.
Government of the PMLN, for the PMLN, by the ROs.
Any doubts why NADRA Chairman was removed.
A lesson for IK and PTI. Had he listened to TUQ at that time rather of being concerned that somebody else will capture the show, he should not be weeping at this time. IK is ridiculous.
I have no affiliation with any party but would like to suggest Mr. Saad Rafique. Please take good care of Pakistan Railways which is getting worse to worst day by day. Being Railway Minister his comments are annoying.
So if it's of low quality, will my thumb impression match with someone else's? If 10+ impressions are exactly the same, will it be because of low quality ink?
Nura league paid bloggers, please stop thinking beyond the few thousand rupees that they pay you to post these stupid comments. The future of democracy and of the country itself is at stake. What Imran Khan and his party are demanding is the moral and Islamic thing to do - if you do not punish those responsible and figure out what mistakes have been made then let's close down all courts and jails and disband the police!
Looking at the ridiculous comment of PMLN. The only word I can think of is disgusting. Seems like Pakistan elections are no different than Saddam Hussien in Iraq.
Even if PTI is wrong and their allegations are baseless, in a true democracy they have the right to be served in their demands. This is their constitutional right.
Can any one ask saad rafiq if ink used by election commission is of low quality how come 30-40%do get verified why there ink doesn't turned out to be sub standard?
Rationality is screaming : "That people have to earn money by accepting propaganda tasks on news websites and social media - oh my god - why why ???"
Saad Rafique will obviously object to thumb impressions. I flew from NYC to Lahore and worked at NA-125 polling stations where Rafique's thugs and goons blatantly with the help of the police stamped multiple ballots with their thumbs/votes. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY Saad Rafique won NA-125
All of these incidents at almost 5 constituencies where me and my friends worked were documented including video recordings and given to PTI and ECP offices. Imran Khan is not talking baseless stuff here. He has accepted the unfair elections but raping the country by being hooligans does no one good.
Besides everything else... the question is simply... how many people from the ECP will be tried and punished for not following the SOPs and leading to this situation.
PMLN shouldnt have any issues with pursuing that course of action as they also claim to be victims... unless there was something else afoot!
Mr. Saad Rafiq, Please bring "Fakhru Bhai" forward to explain these allegations
Not surprising at tall that the government is not ready to verify the thumb impression because they know what they have done. Putting unverifiable impressions aside, thumb impression verification reveal if there were multiple votes caste. N-league will try its best to avoid it.
Another flip by Saad Rafique. Typical tactics of PML(N), keep changing the goal post. I wonder why Saad Rafique become so defensive whenever there is a talk about rigging.
All these protests makes no sense. Seems to create a situation to derail the democratic process and nation and turn it into a war state like Syria. Every opposition is worried because of performance vision and right direction of current leadership in position. So for personal benefit they protest why will they care about National interest that is continuity of democratic process.
This is getting too much. As much democracy needs to continue, its evident that everything was done to prevent PTI winning the elections.
It is May 2014 but PTI is still living in May 2018. They should look forward and focus on KPK. Corruption is at its peak in KPK that needs to be addressed by PTI as the top most priority. I respect IK but his present politics can destabilize the democracy in Pakistan. I request IK to please leave the politics of agitation. This agitation may badly affect the economy of Pakistan. Economy has started responding positively since last few months and any agitation at the moment can result in wastage of all efforts.
I wished that Imran would have congratulated Nawaz Sharif after elections. But such gesture cannot be expected from a politician like Imran. Imran is very poor ethically. He should improve his communication and inter-personal skills. He should open his heart for others. Allah bless Pakistan.
Imran should show some courage and accept defeat. He should wait till 2018 as his next defeat is due in 2018.
Why not thumb impressions even when NADRA is also ready??? Smelling something suspecious!!! :-/
Who was surprised by PMLN stance? Why would the guy stake his seat he got through rigging?
PTI is habitual of making noise. Polling agents of all parties are present on each polling station. result is given to the polling agents and then compiled. No chance of rigging what is blamed by PTI.
The difference between statemen like Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ch Nisar versus culprit (chore keh shari mein tinka) like Kh Saad, Sardar Ayaz is evident from their actions and statements.
Everything Mr. Qureshi said (reported in this post) make sense, while Kh Saad along with Sardar Ayaz are the most vulnerable culprits to fingers prints verification, so they are either using cry or stay orders. Why didnt government punished ECP responsible parties for using low quality ink? Why government is shying away from verification? if it is bad for PMLN then it should be bad for everyone else too.
Shameful!
Baseless allegations of PTI without any proof. PTI is wasting the time of nation.