ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan said that it is not him but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who should apologise over the judicial commission's report, as all political parties are in agreement that there was rigging during the 2013 general elections.
In a much-awaited response to the report, Imran lashed out at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), saying "ECP had no idea of how the elections were being conducted."
Quoting the judicial commission report, he said “ECP had no coordination with provincial election commissions."
Imran appreciated the performance of the judicial commission and said there was no conspiracy and the military's leadership was not involved.
Also read: There was no rigging at any level in 2013 elections, says Nawaz
“The verdict it (JC) has given against ECP will definitely help the future course of elections in the country,” he said.
Imran said he was a bit disappointed because the chief justice conducted the probe so well and their expectations were high. “We expected him not to leave it half finished.”
The PTI chairman lauded the chief justice saying “The chief justice brilliantly conducted this probe. He was alert, listening to every word, remembering every detail. But we had higher hopes."
"We accepted the results for bringing transparency and for the sake of democracy's future."
Imran, however, did raise some questions, asking "Why were the Returning Officers (ROs) in Punjab given the carte blanche to decide how many extra ballots to print. Under what law was it justified?"
“Why were the ROs taking decisions in Punjab, while in other provinces the decisions were taken by the provincial election commissions?” he questioned.
Know more: JC finds 2013 elections 'fair and in accordance with law'
“Initially I wanted them to open only four constituencies as a sample case to probe alleged rigging, but it took them a year to do so,” said the PTI chief.
“Why did it take them two years and four months to get a judicial commission report?”
Also read: Imran accepts poll inquiry commission’s report
Responding to a question, Imran said his party will form a strong opposition in the National Assembly and went on to add that “the whole country will see what real change is with the examples we are setting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)."
“PML-N forced us to initiate street protests. We accept the JC’s decision but we will be the most formidable opposition for them in the assembly,” he said.
Imran had earlier refrained from commenting on the findings of the judicial commission report on Thursday, saying he would only comment on it after reading it, since he was not given a copy of it.
