Former ECP official alleges of massive rigging in 2013 polls

ISLAMABAD: The current impasse between the ruling PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was staggered on Sunday night when an ex Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) official- who was directly involved in the arrangements, preparations and execution of elections- directly showed up in support of Imran Khan’s claims of massive electoral rigging.

Muhammad Afzal Khan alias Afzal Qadhafi appeared on a private television talk show and pointed finger squarely at the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and retired Jusice Riaz Ahmed Kiyani (who was the ECP member from Punjab) for being a party in the electoral fraud. Mr. Afzal had served as the additional secretary of ECP from 2012 and until his retirement just after the elections of 2013. Mr. Afzal alleged that Chief Justice Iftikhiar Chaudhry had interfered in the mandate of ECP by appointing returning officers (ROs) due to his influence on the erstwhile Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakhurddin G.Ibrahim. ‘’ To save his skin, the CJP ordered Fakhru bhai to submit an application seeking the apex court’s assistance in appointing RO’s’’, he revealed. Referring to the line, often used by Imran Khan that there 35 punctures in the elections, Mr. Afzal said that there were a lot more than 35 punctures in the general polls of the past year.