PML-N rejoinder disputes PTI claims

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has attached with its reply, submitted to the Judicial Commission, the damning final report of the review commission of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is a telling indictment of the party leadership on various counts.
In its introduction, the report stated that life of a human being passes through various stages, like infancy, adulthood, maturity and finally old age; political parties also pass through similar stages.
“While PTI can be said to be going through the stage of ‘adulthood’, PML-N seems to be in a ‘mature’ stage of organisational development, while the PPP has passed into ‘old age’. Like in humans, while passing through puberty/adulthood, PTI is also passing through an awkward stage, where new experiments have to be undertaken and, where necessary, corrective action has to be taken, to reach the desired objectives,” the PTI commission report said.
While replying to the points raised by the PTI in its plea, at a number of places the PML-N rejoinder stated, that these issues relate to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and it is for the electoral body to answer.
Similarly, it also noted that the PTI was on a “fishing expedition” through the aegis of the commission without placing any material and evidence on record in support of its claims. It dubbed various allegations and claims as “bald”, “vague” and “non-specific”.
The reply said that during the sit-in and other events last year, the constant refrain of the PTI leadership was that the election had been systematically rigged through a conspiracy hatched by persons holding high office in the judiciary, the ECP, the caretaker governments and the bureaucracy. The PTI has to specify, amongst other things, who conspired, with whom, where, when and what illegal acts were committed and what illegal means employed.
It said that contrary to the sit-in rhetoric, the PTI petition is singularly silent in regard to these ingredients of a criminal conspiracy. No material has been placed on record either to prove such conspiracy or even to form the basis of a further investigation in this matter. The commission may therefore safely conclude that there was not systematic design or effort by anyone to manipulate or influence the elections.
The reply said that the PTI plea did not even attempt to show or aver that the PML-N was involved in any manner, or at any level, with the alleged systematic poll manipulation. The allegations made are, in the main, against the ECP and its officials. It said that there is no basis for the proposal to establish a special investigation team (SIT) to inquire into video footages of selected news channels as media interviews cannot and do not constitute evidence of electoral malpractice. The commission may not entertain the request to play video footage and news channel programmes as this may convert the proceedings into theatre without serving any useful purpose.
Views expressed by newscasters, channel anchors and their interviewees in recorded programmes can’t be used as evidence as persons making particular statements would not be subject to cross-examination.
The reply said that the SIT should be set up only if there is prima facie actionable material, and the PML-N will fully cooperate with it, if established.
It said that if the PTI failed to place any worthwhile material and evidence before the Commission, it can’t reasonably or lawfully request the forum to ‘fish out’ a case for the party where none exists. The PML-N is not an accused in these proceedings because, amongst other things, there is no allegation that it is a party to any preplanned conspiracy for systematic rigging.
The rejoinder said there can be no such thing as the ‘perfect’ conduct of an elections. Such lapses and irregularities as did occur were not the result of any conspiracy or design or plan to manipulate the elections. There was no illegal link between the PML-N and ECP. The PML-N welcomes the fact that the ECP has itself recognised the shortcomings in the conduct of the polls and identified the issues that need to be addressed for the future.
It said that reports of international and local observers have value depending upon their reputation for integrity and independence and their technical resources.
As admitted by the PTI leadership itself the allegations of ‘massive’ fraud are a latter-day development and were not made in the immediate aftermath of the elections and for several months thereafter, the reply said.
It also included preliminary statement of the National Democratic Institute - Asian Network for Free Elections International Election Observation Mission to Pakistan, and the report on assessment of quality of elections by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.