NADRA blames ECP for failure to verify votes

Authority report exonerates govt of rigging allegations.

LAHORE: Following the verification of thumb impressions on ballot papers in NA 118, Lahore, the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) has blamed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for its failure to authenticate more than a third of the votes.

The NADRA report exonerates the government of rigging allegations.

It puts down the votes polled using fake identity cards, multiple counterfoils having the same thumb impressions and votes cast using identity cards of people not registered in the constituency to mistakes and errors.

Commenting on votes cast using invalid identity cards, the report says a possible explanation was a mistake by polling staff in recording the identity card number on counterfoil.

It sys the efficacy/accuracy of verification exercise would have improved had the proposed ink been used for taking all fingerprints.

It says NADRA found it difficult to read fingerprints due to lack of the following desirable properties the commission had been asked to look for:

The ink should be fast dry so that a thumb print does not get smudged; ink should be skin-friendly; easy to extract data, viscosity, surface tension, specific gravity and shade on paper should be controlled; the ink pads should provide constant flow of ink; the ink pads should have good quality absorbent material saturated with ink to transfer ink evenly to a thumb and on applying stress on absorbent material there should be no smudging.

A Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) official told The Express Tribune that the council had been given the task to produce magnetic ink.

Law unto themselves

A group of lawyers attacked police personnel at the Lahore High Court last week after their client in a fraud case was denied bail. They also helped him avoid arrest.

Notices against TV network

Robina Jawwad, the wife of Justice Jawwad S Khwaja, sent legal notices last week to Salman Iqbal, the CEO of ARY Communications, and Mubashar Lucman, an anchorperson for ARY News, and other officials of the TV network before legal proceedings under the defamation ordinance for allegedly broadcasting an “extremely defamatory programme” about the couple.

Summer camps

Appearing before the LHC on a petition challenging summer camps at schools, the schools secretary said that students were not forced to attend classes during summer vacations.

He said the schools holding summer camps without the consent of parents would face action.

Justice Ali Baqar Najfi has told the counsel for the petitioner to respond to the secretary’s statement.

‘Honour’ killing

A court last week sent four people, accused of killing a woman named Farzana Bibi for ‘honour’, on a judicial remand.

They included her two brothers Ghulam Ali and Zahid and Mazhar who claims to be her husband.

Fortress Square plaza

An LHC bench adjourned hearing of arguments on maintainability of a petition challenging the construction of a commercial plaza on Fortress Stadium land.

Justice Ayesha A Malik heard the counsel for the petitioner and directed the  espondents to file their rebuttal, if any, at the next hearing.

The counsel for the Fortress Stadium Management had told the court the management was part of Pakistan Army and that a petition could not be entertained against the army.

Responding, the petitioner’s counsel said that although the ex officio head of the management was a serving military officer, there was no bar on challenging its “illegal” acts.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2014.