A historic commission

The Judicial Commission, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Nasirul Mulk, to probe allegations of rigging in the 2013 general election is engaged in a process that will be closely watched across the country. A historic verdict could surface from this exercise, put into action after the government accepted the PTI’s demand first raised last year that a judicial body be set up to enquire into its allegations of massive manipulation of the polls. Proof of these allegations is now awaited. So far, the evidence presented to the JC does not throw up anything particularly dramatic. Indeed, there is no really substantial documentation of rigging put forward by any of the 21 parties who have tabled their concerns before the commission. The PTI, the lead player in this action, has put forward only a generalised statement talking about its concerns and the actions of the Election Commission of Pakistan while demanding that its then chief justice (r) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim be summoned before the court and questioned. It is, however, a little unclear quite what the party wants him to be questioned about – given its own failure to present firm proof of actions that may have changed the outcome of the 2013 election.
In this context, as the JC went into its second day of hearing on Thursday, it is significant that results on just 44 out of 849 National Assembly seats contested during the polls have been brought under scrutiny by all the parties involved. The PTI has put forward the largest number of seats (35), and essentially these comprise constituencies where a huge number of rejected ballots were found. Most PTI candidates who lost the electoral battle in their constituencies seemed to have filed no petition alleging unfair play, and this surely will be a point taken up by government lawyers as the hearing progresses. For now, the JC has asked that a single counsel represent each of the 21 parties figuring in the case and has asked Nadra for forensic evidence from 37 constituencies within the next two days. With the PTI making much of claims that multiple votes were cast, this evidence will be significant. The pattern of the charges made by the parties is also fairly striking, with many focusing on a particular area of the country. The complaints of the MQM, for example, relate almost solely to Karachi. The JC verdict should clear the air once and for all regarding the myths about the election and how it was held. We badly need this. It is also important that some of the more ludicrous claims made over the past few months be resolved. Mir Ibrahim Rehman, chief executive of Geo Television which was accused by the PTI of somehow playing a part in the rigging, mainly on the basis of its swift announcement of results, has requested that he himself and other members of the organisation be called before the JC to clarify the position. This too is significant. Media involvement in rigging would add a new dimension to the entire problem. It is also crucial that the allegations we have been hearing for so long be investigated so that we know once and for all what the status of Election 2013 is and can from this point move forward towards other matters.