PM picks Khattak to probe election 'rigging'

Committee will have equal representation from the ruling party and opposition

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday appointed Defence Minister Pervez Khattak to head the parliamentary committee tasked with probing alleged rigging during general elections held in July, Express News reported.

The ruling party and the opposition will submit names of their committee nominees to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser. The speaker will then select and appoint lawmakers to the committee. The first meeting of the committee will determine its terms of reference.



Out of the 24 members, two-thirds will be from the Lower House and one-third from the Upper House with the government and opposition having equal representation.

The decision to form the committee was made in a meeting chaired by the NA speaker in the presence of Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani and members of both houses of Parliament.

Soon after the general elections, political leaders from PML-N and PPP voiced reservations over the conduct of elections and also led a protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) offices in Islamabad.

PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif raised reservations over the delay in transmission of results and claimed the party’s representatives were barred from entering polling stations while votes were being counted.

Shehbaz throws down gauntlet to PTI govt over ‘rigged elections’

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto and several of the party's leaders also complained of not being provided Form 45 among other irregularities.

Reactions of political leaders became more aggressive after ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob informed the nation the results transmission system (RTS) had collapsed. He had also announced that ECP would be returning to the traditional method of tabulating results and therefore, there could be a delay in the release of unofficial results.

As the new assembly took the oath with PTI in line to form its government in the Centre, opposition parties demanded the upcoming administration investigate any foul play in polling and allegations of rigging including the failure of a costly investment like the RTS.