ISLAMABAD: The poll inquiry commission has asked seven witnesses from Balochistan to record their testimonies before it on Monday (June 15).

The witnesses have been summoned at the request of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal and BNP-Awami, which had contested the 2013 general elections from different constituencies of Balochistan but failed to win seats, mainly for the Balochistan Assembly.

Advocate Sajjad Tareen, representing BNP-Mengal, told Dawn that four of the witnesses were from BNP-Mengal and three from BNP-Awami. Nawaz Ghaus Bux Barouzai, who was caretaker chief minister of Balochistan during last elections, was a common witness of both parties. Sessions Judge Murad Ali Baloch, who had conducted the elections in NA-271 (Panjgoor) as district returning officer (DRO); returning officer (RO) of NA-268 (Quetta) Shakil Ahmed and RO Naseer Mirwani of NA-269 (Khuzdar) are witnesses from BNP-Mengal, which had submitted a list of 13 people but four of them have been summoned.

Know more: Recording of testimony begins in poll probe

BNP-Awami witnesses include presiding officers of different polling stations of PB-42 and PB-43 (Panjgoor) — Ikramullah, Mohammad Noor and Murad Ali.

The names were finalised on Friday by the three-judge commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk.

On Monday, the commission may also come up with its own witnesses to determine if the rigging was done in a systematic manner then who was the architect.

Published in Dawn June 13th, 2015

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