Vote fraud: Top court to hear PTI’s petition
Imran Khan had called for the verification of voters’ thumb impressions with the help of NADRA.
“This will open Pandora’s Box and the nation will know how the PTI’s mandate was stolen,” said PTI leader Hamid Khan. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has decided to take up an important petition, seeking ‘verification of thumb impressions’ in some constituencies won by key PML-N politicians in the May 11 general elections.
The petition was filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan who has alleged massive fraud in the elections and called for the verification of voters’ thumb impressions with the help of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA).
On Monday, the top court admitted the civil miscellaneous petition seeking verification of thumb impressions in four constituencies for preliminary hearing after Imran’s attorney Hamid Khan shot down the objections raised by the Supreme Court registrar against his client’s petition.
The petition filed by Imran on June 8 was returned by the registrar office and the petitioner was asked to approach another forum for this purpose.
A three-judge bench ordered the registrar office to fix Imran’s petition in the Workers Party of Pakistan’s case within seven days for regular hearing. Hamid requested the court that as a first step to check the fairness of the 2013 general elections “the apex court may order verification of thumb impressions in four constituencies: NA-110, NA-122, NA-125 and NA 154”.
The development came a day after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan invited the parliamentary leaders of all political parties for a brainstorming session on the vote fraud controversy. “We are ready to hold thumb impression verification of voters in all 272 directly elected seats of the National Assembly under the supervision of Justice (retd) Wajiuddin Ahmed of the PTI,” he said in a letter to the parliamentary leaders.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was elected on NA-122; Defence Minister Khawaja Asif won from NA-110; Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique defeated PTI’s Hamid Khan in NA-125 and Sadiq Baloch outvoted PTI’s Secretary General Jahangir Tareen in NA-154.
“This will open Pandora’s Box and the nation will know how the PTI’s mandate was stolen,” said PTI leader Hamid Khan.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2013.
The Supreme Court has decided to take up an important petition, seeking ‘verification of thumb impressions’ in some constituencies won by key PML-N politicians in the May 11 general elections.
The petition was filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan who has alleged massive fraud in the elections and called for the verification of voters’ thumb impressions with the help of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA).
On Monday, the top court admitted the civil miscellaneous petition seeking verification of thumb impressions in four constituencies for preliminary hearing after Imran’s attorney Hamid Khan shot down the objections raised by the Supreme Court registrar against his client’s petition.
The petition filed by Imran on June 8 was returned by the registrar office and the petitioner was asked to approach another forum for this purpose.
A three-judge bench ordered the registrar office to fix Imran’s petition in the Workers Party of Pakistan’s case within seven days for regular hearing. Hamid requested the court that as a first step to check the fairness of the 2013 general elections “the apex court may order verification of thumb impressions in four constituencies: NA-110, NA-122, NA-125 and NA 154”.
The development came a day after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan invited the parliamentary leaders of all political parties for a brainstorming session on the vote fraud controversy. “We are ready to hold thumb impression verification of voters in all 272 directly elected seats of the National Assembly under the supervision of Justice (retd) Wajiuddin Ahmed of the PTI,” he said in a letter to the parliamentary leaders.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was elected on NA-122; Defence Minister Khawaja Asif won from NA-110; Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique defeated PTI’s Hamid Khan in NA-125 and Sadiq Baloch outvoted PTI’s Secretary General Jahangir Tareen in NA-154.
“This will open Pandora’s Box and the nation will know how the PTI’s mandate was stolen,” said PTI leader Hamid Khan.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2013.