ISLAMABAD: The PPP asked the poll inquiry commission on Wednesday to order the opening of election bags in certain constituencies nationwide.

“You will find a Punjab-like pattern (of influencing results through returning officers) in other constituencies too, where election bags were not completed and material such as Form XV were left out, but the results were attributed in favour of certain candidates,” Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan argued before the three-judge commission investigating allegations of rigging in the 2013 elections.

Since the commission has been given 120 days — the lifespan of the ordinance under which it was constituted — to conduct a vast inquiry, the commission should look at some of the constituencies to find illegalities, Mr Ahsan suggested. “This proposal is still viable to complete its task within 120 days,” the counsel proposed.

But on Wednesday, Reham Khan was the centre of attention inside Courtroom 1. Seated alongside her husband, PTI chief Imran Khan, she was seen quietly listening or taking notes during proceedings as PTI counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada concluded his arguments.

The commission reiterated that it intended to close the inquiry this week.

Citing a number of Supreme Court judgments, Mr Ahsan said election material and the relevant records had always been given great importance and solemnly maintained because defects in the record were never forgiven by the courts.

Referring to the large number of missing Form XV, he argued that this was a grievous offence. “If the Form XV or other election material is missing, it calls into question the entire election and lends credence to the notion of the polls being influenced on an overall basis,” he said.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim asked the counsel whether he was alleging rigging in elections all over Pakistan, or in certain constituencies.

“The major focus is on Punjab,” replied Mr Ahsan, but Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk recalled his earlier application where the PPP had pointed out widespread malpractices in both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“You are focusing more on Punjab, but what about the missing Form XV in Sindh,” the chief justice asked, to which Mr Ahsan replied that while that merited an investigation, it was not along the pattern observed in Punjab.

Mr Ahsan also quoted the 2012 Asghar Khan case, where payments of Rs140 million were made to 32 political leaders and other individuals before the 1990 general elections and the Supreme Court held that those elections were polluted and the people were deprived of representation from their chosen leaders.

If illegalities or missing election material were found in 25 to 30 per cent of constituencies, the commission could infer on an overall basis that the last elections appeared to have been manipulated or influenced, the counsel argued.

He then referred to the National Assembly constituency NA-124, where his wife Bushra Aitzaz had lost. He said that when an election petition was moved before a tribunal, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) — headed by Justice Mulk as acting chief election commissioner — had ordered the bags to be opened, which were sealed after the required election documents were retrieved.

Over 50 Forms XV from 106 polling stations in the constituency were found missing, but when the inquiry commission ordered those election bags reopened on May 26, they magically reappeared and the commission was told that 40 Forms XV were missing from a total of 277 bags, even though the seals of 204 bags had been broken.

The chief justice observed that someone could have made an error, saying that this was not a question of fabrication and, even if it was, then for what purpose. Mr Ahsan replied that the purpose must be to misguide the commission.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play