LAHORE: PML-Q senior leader Pervaiz Elahi said on Saturday that former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had violated the Judicial Policy 2009 by giving orders to the returning officers in 2013 elections.

“The Sharif brothers’ speech prior to counting of votes was the final order to the returning officers for completion of the rigging plan,” he said after meeting Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri at his residence here.

Party leaders Chaudhry Shujaat, Basharat Raja, Tariq Bashir Cheema and Chaudhry Zaheeruddin were also present.

Pervaiz Elahi said: “Everyone involved in the massive rigging of May 2013 elections will have to undergo punishment for the wrongdoing.”

He said the government was now showering favours on the son of Iftikhar Chaudhry.

“Arsalan Iftikhar has been made vice president of Balochistan Investment Board for having ‘ideal’ experience of investment. He will not only bring back his investment but also multiply it,” he taunted.

He endorsed Imran Khan’s allegation that the result of 99 constituencies had been changed in 2013 polls. He said the PML-Q had already exposed rigging at massive level. Only in Punjab, massive rigging was committed in 44 national and provincial assemblies’ seats being contested by PML-Q candidates, he added.

He said even FAFEN (Free and Fair Election Network) had fully endorsed the PML-Q stance in its report saying the results of 93 constituencies of the National Assembly were manoeuvered by abruptly changing the polling stations whereas the polling time had also been extended unilaterally and fake votes of N-League were also counted.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2014