No way out: Govt to consult political parties over draft judicial commission ToRs
“Both sides are stuck on “scope of work” of the proposed judicial commission,” revealed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar after the meeting.
Amid scenes of discontent from the PTI side, the government said it was accepting the proposal put forward by the PTI, and will now take the 21 parliamentary parties into confidence over it with Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal reiterating that they want to resolve the issue amicably.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who did not stand with the government team while talking to the media, said that talks on Tuesday was the last round of meetings with the government.
“We came today with the expectation of signing an agreement, but it seems that the government is shying away from probing electoral rigging,” he lamented. “We have shown maximum flexibility during the talks and apparently there is no further space for further negotiation and it is up to the government now to reply our demands.”
Qureshi later said that he will consult with party chief Imran Khan and seek a new course of action for the party during the next core committee meeting.
Earlier on Tuesday, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal expressed confidence that the government and leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would be able to reach a consensus on the issue of electoral reforms through negotiations, Radio Pakistan reported.
The government and PTI are expected to hold talks today to resolve their political differences.
“Irregularities in the general elections will be addressed with the consensus of all political parties,” Iqbal said, adding that the country could not afford politics of confrontation.
Moreover, the PTI said a deadlock on three points still continues, but the party is hopeful that these issues will be resolved amicably.
Earlier, PTI had reiterated that it would persevere in its demand for an independent inquiry into the alleged rigging in the 2013 election.
The PTI had been staging nationwide protests, and had announced a countrywide shutdown, which were called off by the party's chief Imran Khan to lend support to the government in its fight against militants following the December 16 bloody rampage by Taliban gunmen at the Army Public School in Peshawar that killed 150 people.
COMMENTS (37)
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@ishrat salim:
Quit your knuckle headed propaganda. In the event you haven't heard the news, Ayaz Sadiq has managed to increase his total votes on the recount by an additional 7,000 votes. Saad Rafiq never got a stay order and it was the Gunda mentality of Hamid Khan that was responsible for the delay in scrutiny in NA-125. If rigging has been accepted by all parties, why neither one of them stood with IK on this matter? If rigging took place, its ANP and JUI (F) who are the most affected parties in KPK and they have already cried foul. Why hasn't PTI and IK opened up KPK to satisfy ANP and JUI (F)?
This charade and sponsored expedition of "Get Nawaz" through toadies and touts like Rent-a-Mullah from Canada and the Chanda collector A.K.A Imran Niazi has fallen flat on its face and instead now dimwit cult worshiping followers should reserve their energy for the grand dance party which would be taking place in Banigala to celebrate IK's impending wedding with "That" lady.
I am flabbergasted at the comments from PML N PTI etc; rigging has been accepted by all the political parties, so what are we arguing about ? it is on record that Mr Nisar has said in the NA that 60,000 to 70,000 votes cannot be verified. From where he got this info ? if any one feels that rigging has taken place in KPK, go ahead get it verified. IK / PTI has welcomed any one to do that. If there was no rigging than why Saad Rafique & Ayaz Sb hiding behind stay order. Why EC till today, not yet put form 14, 15 & 16 on their website, that would have allowed every one to see if IK was wrong or correct...period.
My question is what if 15-20 rigged seats are all ministers and speaker of the parliament?
@Ex PTI: first writing in Ex, reaffirms that you are not PTI. Second, how is demanding a rigging probe is unfair when demand of PM resignation and even the protest is withdrawn. PTi has shown lot of flexibility and if Gov. Plays it's usual tricks then they should go back on streets as NS does not understand any other way
Imran Niazi's obscurantist form of politics, which uses violence and threatening language, is dead. The PTI government could not stop the carnage in Peshawar . They should not try to bring the entire country down to their incompetent level.
@Ex PTI: Please join PML-N or PPP - make your pick. Thank you for your support in the past.
@Ranjha: Don't worry we are already laughing all the way to 2018 and Post 2018 as well. I guess u can resort to sulking.
@Azam Khan: Yup only in your delusional mind. Rather Govt is on the up and rising.
@Azam Khan: Dream on.
@Ex PML-N (M...A): An irrelevant trying to remain relevant. Nice try.
Khan sahab we are with u..plz keep fighting for our rights. May Allah SWT be with you
@ Hobbit. Agree with you 100%. Go Imran Go. Ro Imran Ro
People in Peshawar feel cheated for voting PTI. I dont care if PMLn won by rigging or fair and square, we are better of without PTI.
@Ex PTI. I agree with Sir. You have seen the light, you seem to use your brain and make logical decisions. I also voted PTI in last elections and feel otherwise now. Though I am not a supporter of PMLn, I feel they are doing a better job than Musharraf or Zardari did.
Sadly the culprit in all this election mess is the infamous judiciary. Like other fronts it has failed on this front as well. The day is not far when Army courts will be asked to resolve this issue as well as the current judicial system has failed to deliver. If one just sees the phenomenal rise in judges salaries over the last decade one can have a very good idea over the state of affairs. Instead of taking sides and being lethargic it should have simply got the constituencies checked and resolved the issue amicably.
The first and foresmost priority right now should be to deal with thr menace of terrorism - with no ifs and buts - full attention from all in Pakistan. I can see in another week or two's time we will back where we were in Aug-14 and forget the innocent lives we lost.
@Adnan Siddiqi:
Einstein, spew out as much venom and balderdash as you are paid to do but remember one thing: the vote bags will open, the truth will come out. Period.
You can get your girlish giggles now but as Chairman Mao once said: the one who laughs the last, laughs the best. And we will be the ones laughing at the darbaris queuing up for Jeddah, or Somalia or Ukrain or whatever God Foresaken country will accept your odorous dead weight.
There should be a complete audit of all 272 NA seats or no audit at all....period.
@ adnan siddiqui Who is the Tailwind of Raiwind then ?
Those of you who believe rigging was only witnessed in 5% or 10% constituencies, then read this article about form-14 (http://thedemocrate.com/2014/09/21/form-14-election-results/). If there were no rigging then what may have stopped ECP from publishing these forms on ECP website as it was promised. Read this article and it will enlighten you.
The Judicial commission must be formed to investigate if and how Ex CJP, Ex COAS, Ex MI Brig and judicial officers Organized rigging to get PMLN in as Imran proclaimed in his dharana speeches. Why is PTI running away from this definition of rigging?
@Faraz: What has PTI's victory or defeat got to do with a wrong doing, that is rigging. Whether it is one seat or 100 seats persons involved in rigging have to be punished. No one is interested in bringing the government down, it is already down.
@Adnan Siddiqi: That day will be the death of Pakistan.
@Ex PTI: It is like saying that the murderer should not be punished because the murdered person was not a earning member of the family. It would not affect the family income so why should the murderer be punished or taken to court. It is this kind of mind set that is destroying Pakistan.
@Faraz: Indeed; agree 100%. IK knows that he levelled allegations against everybody, but him and Bani Gala pillars, WITHOUT any proof, so if the ToRs are based on those allegations, he will have an Ostrich egg on his face. Hence, he is trying to confuse the issue, and is bent upon black-mailing the govt to a point where the only version of ToRs acceptable to him would be one that GUARANTEES NS' resignation. Hope PML(N) team puts its foot down, and not let someone who is suffering from Schzophranic, achieve his nefarious designs of creating anarchy and toppling a democratically elected govt!!!
@Faraz:
My dear Sir, what to say about the most fair and free elections of 2002? These were the same elections in which Kaptaan Bhai demanded 100 seats from Musharraf and was in turn told to take a hike.
PTI's only gripe is that the plan of action formulated by the outgoing DG ISI Shuja Pasha through his cronies in Abpara did not bear fruit and neither did the smart alec Hamid Khan's brilliant idea of placing the officers of the judiciary as overseers of 2013 elections transpire the desired results in favor of PTI. Why do some of the wannabe erudite cult worshipers out here don't dwell upon the election results in KPK, were they fair? Why don't IK compel his ideological and spiritual guru Sheeda Tully to withdraw his stay order against Malik Shakeel Awan? Were the trolls sleeping when we all came to know that all the bogus votes unearthed till date in NA-125 have been the ones cast in favor of Hamid Khan?
The election tribunals are working just fine and dispensed verdicts professionally within the stipulated time. There is no hard and fast rule and neither has a commandment dawned from the seventh heaven that election tribunals have to adjudicate on a petition within 120 days.
PML-N played the waiting game brilliantly and has exposed all the usual suspects. Now all IK can do is talk baloney in the hope of lifting the morale of his internet based followers.
Love you IK. Keep going, we are all behind you.
Concensus is as good as no agreement. This word is most popular with rigged(ly) elected uneducated persons.
IK levelled allegations against CJ, GEO, Ramday, Printing Corporation, Najam Sethi, Kayani, ROs etc. Why IK reluctant to include the same in TORs. What IK wants is to finish the govt if 4 to 6 seats proved rigged. This is completely bad intention of IK. Yes if commission said that there was a planned rigging and Pmln was the beneficiary then the govt shud go home. But on the basis of 4% to 5% rigged seats the demand of PTI is completely ridiculous. If anyone closely monitored the results of 2008 and 2013 , one is clearly visible that elections were fair and PTI was no where near the victory.
Rest assured that PML-N would never acquiesce and succumb to such ludicrous demands being made by a "Junkie" who obviously is being spoon fed from somewhere else. Hazrat Niazi Waliullah Banigala Sharif can continue with his public awareness campaign and the nation will give its verdict again in 2018.....in favor of PML-N.
@Ex PTI: so narrow dear, it is not matter of being or beocome pm, still if rigging is on 15 or 20 seats it makes huge differce
I am a very high ranking member of PML-N presently. An it is with great sadness that I am having to write this. I am not in favor of party policies or actions. Our CM sb. and his people have dragged Punjab to the ground. Good people in the party are not encouraged and "yes-men" (i will not take names because of backlash and disgrace) are given preference. It is a sad state of affairs and what was once a great party has been reduced to petty internal rifts and politics.
PTI has shown us the mirror and we still refuse to face the truth. Our lies will run us into the ground no matter how much we try and deny them. The idea is only to stall and delay the negotiations but eventually, time will run out and we will have to face the truth. PTI knows this. Everyone knows this.
I am disappointed to be a part of PMN-N and disclaim this leadership.
At Ex, how do you know if it was only 15 seats that involved rigging and not 20, 100, or 200? Nobody knows until a fair and thorough election audit can take place which is what PTI is asking for. I think it is very important to know how much rigging took place and who was involved so it doesn't happen again in future. This demand of PTI will bring transparency in to election and will strengthen democracy and our country ultimately. The supporters of PML-N and current govt need to stop looking at short term gains and be honest for better future of Pakistan.
Ashamed for voting PTI in last elections. PTI is trying to drag the country down while I actually think NS is trying to build Pakistan. PMLn should not talk to PTI as its demands are unfair. PTI has alleged rigging in maximum 15 seats, which even if had won would not have made Imran Khan PM. Shame on PTI
Pml - n is only playing to win time and will never agree to an audit of 2013 election.
You can't expect a fraudster to change his ways specially when prime minister ship is on stake.
PTI must continue with public awareness campaign as well as protest against this fake PM.