Taimur Jhagra seeks judicial probe into polls ‘rigging’

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former provincial minister Taimur Salim Jhagra on Tuesday alleged that each of the NA and PA seats had been sold for Rs30-Rs80 million, which must be investigated to fix responsibility.

Talking to reporters on the premises of Peshawar High Court, he alleged that district returning officers and returning officers had committed corruption and helped elect those candidates, who had paid them for Rs30-Rs80 million for a single seat of national or provincial assembly.

“No candidate would now run any campaign for the elections in future but would simply pay Rs30-Rs80 million to the DROs and ROs and get elected,” the PTI leader said, adding that the newly elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister should order judicial investigation in the alleged election fraud and lodge criminal case against the accused.

He said that real election results as per the Form 45 must be brought forth if anyone wanted to correct politics and governance.

The former minister alleged that the Election Commission did not give them Form 45 despite repeated requests as record rigging had been committed in Peshawar, which was meant to hush up the malpractices.

“In my constituency, the ECP uploaded the results as per Form 45 but later the same was deleted and I was declared loser,” Taimur Jhagra complained, adding that even the KP chief secretary and top cop did not take notice of rigging in the February 8 general elections.

He made it clear that they did not want revenge from the officials but seek justice and their rights.He said that he did not want to join the KP cabinet as advisor if he had really lost the elections.“It is not my right to take any berth in the cabinet if I am a loser in polls,” the ex-minister added.