ISLAMABAD: After the three-judge poll inquiry commission headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk gave a clean chit to the ruling PML-N, the shell-shocked top leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf remained busy throughout Friday brainstorming the party’s formal response to the commission’s report which had declared the 2013 general elections fair and in accordance with the law.

A crestfallen PTI leadership, the party sources close the development told Dawn, was finding it difficult to digest contents of the report because the commission, in all the three terms of reference it was asked to respond, had rejected Imran Khan’s claims against the genuineness of the elections.

In the absence of veteran Supreme Court lawyer Abdul Hafeez Pirzada who had represented the PTI before the commission, Imran Khan had a detailed meeting with Dr Babar Awan, a PPP senator and lawyer, at his Bani Gala residence.

PTI consults PPP senator Babar Awan and former AG Irfan Qadir

On the legal aspects of the report, former attorney general Irfan Qadir was also consulted.

Mr Pirzada is in London for medical reasons, but lawyers from his chamber remained present in Bani Gala for their input. PTI’s senior leaders, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Tareen, Naeemul Haq and Ishaq Khakwani, attended the exhaustive consultative meeting which continued till late night.

Since the PTI chairman has repeatedly announced that his party will wholeheartedly accept findings of the inquiry commission, his delayed response to the report has raised many eyebrows in political circles.

After the unveiling of the report, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his address to the nation on Thursday, had sought political reconciliation with the PTI. But political analysts are of the opinion that polarisation between the two parties will remain intact, rather increase in coming days.

“After having worked so hard for the constitution of the commission, though its report has gone in favour of the government, we want the party’s formal response well-thought out and Friday’s deliberations meant for that,” said a senior member of the PTI’s core committee.

He said the PTI leaders would meet again on Saturday morning for further deliberations on the party’s official response to the commission’s report.

He said the meeting with Dr Awan and other lawyers was meant to understand ins and outs of the report, whether the judges had completely rejected the PTI’s stand on rigging or still there were certain parts in the report which could be highlighted at a press conference.

According to PTI Information Secretary Naeemul Haq, the party chairman will address a press conference at 6pm on Saturday at his residence.

On his way to Bani Gala, when PTI General Secretary Jahangir Tareen was asked if the party leadership would offer an unconditional apology over its abject failure to prove anything worthwhile before the commission, he said: “Those calling for an apology are playing politics and we know how to respond to them.”

He said the party would continue to struggle for free and fair elections in the country.

A PTI insider told Dawn that the party’s legal side was also considering if the report could be used against the Election Commission of Pakistan because the inquiry commission had highlighted shortcomings of the ECP in conducting the last elections. A formal petition against the ECP was one of the options which came under discussion.

Talking to Dawn, PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi said the party leadership was discussing its formal response to the report which the chairman would brief to the media.

Dr Alvi, who is in Karachi, said: “In my personal capacity, I think the party leadership shouldn’t say much about the report and let the intelligentsia and media comment if the judicial commission has fairly responded to the PTI’s argument against rigging in last general elections.

At my personal level, I think even if the PTI has failed to prove that rigging took place in the elections, one may ask the question did the judicial commission conduct enough on ground investigation to determine so”.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2015

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