JC should have probed rigging at micro level, says Justice Wajih

LAHORE: Expressing reservations over a recent verdict by the Judicial Commission, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf Justice (retd) Wajihuddin has said the JC had failed to investigate rigging and irregularities in the 2013 general elections at micro level.
“The need of the hour is to probe rigging at micro level rather than providing an emphatic full stop to the process of investigation, a lot could have been investigated but it wasn’t done,” said Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin while talking to The News over the JC findings. “I don’t question the credibility of the legal team pleading the case but feel that the PTI and the PPP didn’t contest the case as they should have” said Wajid.
“Parliament must make an amendment in the Representation of Peoples Act and an opportunity must be given to the candidates to re file petitions over rigging in the polls, reservations could also be addressed if rigging is probed at micro level,” said Wajihuddin.
Responding to a question, he said that the first flaw which he believed existed in the finding of the JC was related to ignoring its major ‘weapon’ of investigation, which was Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
He said the JC had the powers to probe the rigging allegations while seeking the help of intelligence agencies but it didn’t make use of it. “When you have legal powers to seek help of MI, ISI or any secret agency to investigate the matter, I am surprised why their assistance wasn’t sought” he said.
Besides, he said his other reservation was related to Form 15, which according to the JC report were missing in 35 percent of the constituencies. He said it was surprising that the most important Form, which carries details of booth wise account, number of ballot papers were missing at such a large scale but even then elections were declared fair.
He also said it was also quite surprising that in most of the constituencies, more ballot papers were printed but in none of them, their numbers were reduced, despite the fact that the turnout, in Pakistani history remains around 50 percent, and in none of the constituencies, hundred percent votes have been polled.
He said to justify the act, it had been stated that in every general election but 1993, more ballot papers had been printed. Wajih said that this itself gave rise to a big and serious question that why less ballot papers were printed in 1993 when a prime minister from Sindh was coming to power and why in 2013, the same pattern wasn’t followed when a person from Punjab was contesting for the slot of PM.
He said in the constituencies where there was no requirement of further ballot papers, they were printed on large scale which was a clear indication of flaws in the measures taken the Election Commission of Pakistan.
He also said that a lot could have been investigated while considering the findings of the Election Tribunals but rather than probing the issue at micro level, the JC focused its fact finding effort at macro level.