JC orders NADRA to submit forensic reports of 37 constituencies

ISLAMABAD: A high-level judicial commission probing alleged electoral rigging has given the National Database Authority (NADRA) three days to submit forensic reports of 37 constituencies where polling was held during the 2013 general elections.

The commission has also given one week’s time to all political parties for submitting detailed evidence of rigging. The high-powered three-member commission had formally invited political parties to appear before it during its first public hearing on Thursday to submit proof of allegations of rigging in the 2013 polls.

The commission headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Masirul Mulk comprises Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan. Hamid Ali Khan has been appointed as the commission's secretary while former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor general K K Agha was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the commission on the matter

47 individual applications have been submitted to the commission, including those by 21 political parties. The political parties include the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), PML-Q and others.

The commission has been tasked to complete its investigation in 45 days.

Starting its ‘open court’ proceedings today, the commission told PTI counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada that the statements it had submitted were ‘generalised’, and asked the party to submit detailed evidence of election rigging.

Hafeez replied by saying that the party had thousands of documents in proving elections were rigged, and asked the court for 10 days time to collect and submit the evidence.

The commission said that it had a limited timeframe of 45 days to complete its investigation, and gave the party one week to collect and submit documentary proof.

Hafeez also said that the party had approached NADRA for forensic reports of 37 constituencies, but they were not supplied by the authority. To which the judges replied that such reports are the property of the court and not of the party.

The commission ordered NADRA to submit the forensic reports within three days time, and advised the PTI counsel to collect copies of the report from the court.

Representatives of the PPP and Jamaat-e-Islami also appeared before the commission today. The JI asked the commission to give it seven days time to arrange a lawyer for the proceedings.

All parties were ordered to collect and submit detailed evidence and documents of proof to the commission, after which the proceedings were adjourned for one week.