ISLAMABAD: The judicial commission made it clear on Friday that it had every intention of completing its investigation into allegations of malpractices in the 2013 general elections within the stipulated 45 days.

“We would like to conclude preferably in 45 days,” Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk observed while heading the three-judge commission.

The observation came when Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, representing the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), requested the commission to take some time off since he would not be available on May 19 and would return late the next day. “I know it will be asking too much if the commission postpones its hearing until May 21, after recording evidence on Monday,” the counsel said.

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“We are running out of time,” observed Justice Amir Hani Muslim, but Mr Pirzada recalled that the presidential ordinance asks that the inquiry preferably be completed in 45 days, but had not set a definite date.

Given the current pace of proceedings, legal observers believe it will be an arduous task to complete the inquiry within the given timeframe. If 45-day rule is enforced from the first hearing of the commission on April 9, it would have to complete its investigation by May 23.

On Friday, the commission recorded the testimony of three witnesses; Musa Raza Afandi, managing director of Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP), Islamabad, PCP Lahore’s former manager Mohammad Rafiq and Pakistan Post Foundation (PPF) Islamabad managing director Ijaz Ahmad. They were cross-examined by Mr Pirzada, Shahid Hamid who represents the PML-N, and Salman Akram Raja representing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Mr Afandi, in his testimony, said that initially the PCP was assigned to print 103.7 million ballot papers, but the number was later increased to 109 million due to the re-printing of ballots for seven National Assembly constituencies and five provincial assembly constituencies, though the action plan provided by the ECP asked for 103 million.

Explaining reasons for re-printing additional ballot papers for the 12 constituencies, the witness said the print order increased because matters pertaining to these constituencies were pending before different courts and the PCP started printing as it received the respective court orders.

The press had to print and deliver ballot papers for the Rawalpindi division, Islamabad, Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whereas PCP Lahore had to supply ballots to the Gujranwala and Lahore divisions, he said.

The entire printing job, Mr Afandi stated, was carried out under high security since the army was deployed inside and outside PCP premises.

The witness conceded that PCP had sublet part of the responsibility of printing ballots to the PPF, located at Golra Mor in Islamabad and had tasked it to print 20 million ballots after April 26, 2013. But PPF only managed to print 17 million ballots, adding that PCP had a contract with PPF under which the paper for printing the ballots was provided by the corporation.

A monitoring team consisting of ECP DG Budget and two PCP deputy directors as well as himself, also visited the facilities of PPF.

Afandi admitted that PCP had sought the employment of casual manpower on May 7, 2013 for manually numbering and binding ballot papers because the printers did not have the facility to do the job automatically. PCP selected only 34 persons out of the 70 or 80 people dispatched because the rest were of no use.

It was not unusual for PCP to hire people and prior to May 7 it also had hired people from the local market through open tenders, he said.

He also admitted that the task of printing ballots for certain constituencies was transferred from Lahore’s to Islamabad’s PCP presses after it was realised that the Lahore press could not cope with the enormity of the work. The transfer was concluded after seeking the permission of the ECP and delivery of all ballot papers to the designated persons was ensured under the supervision of ECP as well as army personnel.

PCP Lahore Manager Mohammad Rafique also conceded that he had requested for the transfer of some of the printing job to other presses because of heavy load and that ballot papers were delivered from May 6 to May 10.

The commission will record the testimony of three more witness on Monday -- former Sindh Election Commissioner S.M. Tariq Qadri, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation MD Rizwan Ahmed and PCP Karachi Manager Muzaffar Ali Chandio.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2015

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