PTI calls for judicial probe into rigging charges

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) aims to establish its governments at the Centre and in provinces, with top priorities focusing on the dismissal of false cases against senior leaders, including the party's founding chairman, Imran Khan, stated Omar Ayub, the party’s pick for premiership, on Sunday.

At a press conference, Omar, the acting secretary-general of the PTI, along with Acting Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Spokesperson Raoof Hasan, vehemently condemned the alleged rigging in the election results. They demanded a judicial probe into the allegations levelled by the Rawalpindi commissioner.

Ayub announced plans to establish PTI governments both at the federal and provincial levels. Omar reiterated the party's capability to assume governance at both tiers. He pledged to prioritize the dismissal of false cases against PTI’s leaders and workers upon assuming office, including those against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Pervaiz Elahi. “As soon as Imran Khan is released, he will assume the position of prime minister. The premiership is an entrusted responsibility to Imran Khan.”

Omar hailed the PTI's triumph despite obstacles such as the loss of its signature ‘bat’ symbol and the incarceration of its top leaders and activists, and called for honouring people’s voice and restoring the PTI's rightful mandate given to it on February 8.

“We unequivocally denounce the extensive electoral tampering in the recent polls and term it as ‘mother of all riggings’,” he said, highlighting a pervasive lack of trust even among beneficiaries of the rigged elections, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Echoing Omar's remarks, Barrister Gohar maintained that the PTI secured 180 seats in the National Assembly in the February 8 vote, only to face alleged rigging during the issuance of election results by the returning officers on Form 47. He demanded the announcement of results as per Form 45.

Accusing the authorities of “deliberately delaying provincial election results” to undermine the PTI majority, Gohar called for formation of a judicial commission to probe into election manipulation charges. He urged transparency in the investigation process and public disclosure of its findings.

Referring to Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Chattha’s resignation after admitting election rigging, the PTI leaders demanded the formation of an empowered judicial commission to investigate the allegations and punish the characters involved in the historic electoral heist.

When asked about a petition in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the elections and re-polling in the country, Ayub stated that since Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had been named by the commissioner, his party would request that he should not sit on the bench hearing the case.

He explained that the PTI was not demanding the annulment of the general elections rather it wanted that the real mandate be recognised, adding that the results of the February 8 polls should reflect the actual votes cast by the people.

Alliance talks

The PTI leaders did not say which parties they would take as allies to form the government, however, they had previously said that the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen Pakistan (MWMP) and the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) would be taken onboard.

In this regard talks were held on Sunday with the MWMP but both sides could not finalise their alliance. According to sources, the PTI would now form an alliance with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which was present in the talks between the PTI and MWMP.

The talks at the MWMP Central Secretariat in Islamabad were attended by PTI’s Barrister Gohar and Omar Ayub, and MWMP Chairman Raja Nasir Abbas, Vice Chairman Ahmad Iqbal Rizvi, Secretary General Nasir Abbas Shirazi, Political Secretary Asad Abbas Naqvi.

Others who were present in the meeting were Opposition Leader in Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Kazim Maysam, Gilgit-Baltistan President Agha Syed Ali Rizvi, Malik Iqrar Hussain and Asif Raza. Besides Sahibzada Hamid Raza, the head of the SIC, also attended the meeting.

Raza said that matters had been finalised between the SIC and the PTI in Punjab and Sindh. “Our services are also available at the Centre and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, he said.

“I stand firmly with the PTI founder and we will support them at every platform,” he added.

(WITH INPUT FROM BILAL GHAURI)