Blame game: Pervaiz Rashid takes a dig at PTI chief

Denies rigging in the 2013 general elections.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid has said that Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has accepted the United States formula of auditing Afghan presidential elections for Pakistan while his politics was based on anti-American policies.

Poll crisis

The minister said that rigging did not occur in the 2013 general elections. In fact, the elections were billed as far more transparent and fair than previous elections by reputed international observers such as PILDAT, FAFEN and UNDP, he added.

Rashid said Imran Khan’s allegation that National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) had set up a cell in COMSATS to manipulate election results were baseless. He added that election records and ballot boxes were in possession of the Election Commission and NADRA had nothing to do with it.

Imran, he said, had been beating about the bush. Earlier, the PTI chief claimed that a brigadier of military intelligence was involved in the rigging but did not reveal his name. He then claimed that Nawaz Sharif’s victory speech was part of the rigging process and subsequently blamed returning officers.

The minister said no crisis was going to engulf the country as a result of the tsunami march because the people would forget about the ‘jalsa’ (meeting) the very next day.

He said the PML-N had no objection to the PTI’s long march but only the national flag should be raised on Aug 14.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2014.