JC report may have impact on defamation cases against Imran’

ISLAMABAD: The general elections 2013 inquiry commission report will have everlasting effects on organisation of the PTI, trust of its workers, voters and sympathisers, overall credibility of the party and most importantly on the trial of some very high profile defamation cases filed against the PTI chief on allegation of mudslinging and ridiculing of some very respected personalities.
The PTI chief Imran Khan and all other party leaders have always shown complete trust in Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasirul Mulk and other two respected judges of the apex court, Justice Ameer Hani Muslim and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan but also always stated that the commission will decide in its favour as the 2013 general elections were rigged under a well-defined strategy which is “proved” through the “evidences” submitted by the party.
The PTI has officially stated many times that former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, former senior judge of the Supreme Court Khalilur Rehman Ramday, former Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a senior Military Intelligence (MI) Brigadier, members of ECP, former chief minister Punjab Najam Sethi (through 35 punctures), Geo and Jang Group and all returning officers (except those in KP) rigged elections under a well-defined planning and former chief election commissioner Fakharuddin G Ebrahim remained ‘criminally’ silent while observing all this. Imran Khan repeatedly alleged that former Iftikhar Chaudhry in order to ensure PML-N’s victory devised a strategy in connivance with Justice Ramday and executed it through ROs and the former addressed all ROs before the polling day for the same objective.
From one baseless allegation and figment of imagination to another ridiculous statement, the PTI chief never stopped and went on to levelling terrible allegations against anybody he ever had any grudge. He used his stage of well-planned and strategised sit-ins in D-Chowk to hurl these abuses and allegations against some very respected personalities and organisations of Pakistan who are regarded across the globe.
At one side where the party workers, voters and sympathisers will give up trusting party leadership anymore, the PTI which was number three party in the May 2013 elections will lose its credibility. It is because majority of the independent analysts were telling the nation that rigging as being claimed by the PTI chief was not possible. However, the PTI leaders continued to propagate to its young workers that there were “evidences” that polls were rigged by Justice Chaudhry, Justice Ramday and Najam Sethi. As a matter of fact, none of these personalities have any direct connection with polling, casting of votes, counting, result consolidation processes but the PTI leaders continued to defame these respected personalities which not only hurt them but their families and followers everywhere. The PTI chief had made allegations against Geo and Jang Group more than anyone else but the media group has withdrawn all the defamation cases against the PTI. However, different courts in Pakistan are hearing defamation suits filed by these personalities attacked by Imran Khan hundreds of times and trials of these cases are in progress. Under the law, trials will continue independently and proceedings of the inquiry commission will have no direct impact on them. However, it is clear that proceedings of the inquiry commission were conducted by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and two other senior judges of apex court and not only many evidences were presented from both sides in support of their stances but dozens of witnesses also appeared and cross examined before the commission, the findings of the commission will have very strong impact on the all the trials of defamation cases.