PTI to chalk out future strategy

There are two parties in the case. Why have we not received the JC report, Imran tweets

CHITRAL/ ISLAMABAD: Accepting the judicial commission’s (JC) report on rigging in the 2013 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Thursday that his party would chalk out its future strategy after going through the findings.

The three-judge panel formed to investigate PTI’s claims of systematic fraud in the previous general elections concluded that the polls were in large part organised fairly. Its 237-page report was issued by the ministry of law and justice and human rights on Thursday.

While talking to journalists in the flood-hit district of Chitral, the PTI chief said he had heard somewhere that the inquiry report had been uploaded to a website, but logically the findings should have been shared with his party. “The PTI will announce its future plan after reading the report,” he said.

He also took to Twitter to express his concern over not being sent the report. “The JC was formed as a result of agreement between the PTI and the PML-N government. There are two parties in the case. Why have we not received the JC report?” Imran tweeted.

PTI lawmaker Dr Arif Alvi admitted the party could not convince the inquiry commission on election rigging. “We had promised we will accept the commission’s report which also endorses our stance establishing an independent body to probe rigging of 2013 general elections,” he told The Express Tribune.

The top leadership will review its future strategy today to overcome the situation after the commission report. “We will come up with a strong reaction – our next strategy is to convey a strong message to our political opponents,” a senior PTI leader said, requesting not to be named.

PAT silent on report

The Tahirul Qadri-led Pakistan Awami Tehreek, which stood by the PTI during the protest days, refused to comment on the findings, citing the poor health of the party chief.

Senior politician Javed Hashmi, who quit the PTI during the protest sit-in, said the report proved that Imran was misguided by a few people. “Some people had stepped aside after using Imran Khan for wrong politics,” he said while talking to the media.

Former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was also accused of rigging by the PTI, said he was preparing his response to the report and would address the media on Friday.

PPP, ANP and Jamaat-e-Islami — the political parties that played a key role in convincing PM Nawaz to form the judicial commission on PTI’s demand expressed satisfaction over the panel’s findings


Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2015.