PESHAWAR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, has decided to form fact-finding committees at the district and divisional levels to collect proofs of rigging in the July 25 general elections within 10 days and publish a whitepaper in order to prove that mandate of Nawaz Sharif’s party has been stolen.

This was announced by PML-N provincial president Amir Muqam while briefing journalists after presiding over a meeting of the party office-bearers, ticket holders, former MPs and newly-elected MNAs and MPAs at a local wedding hall here on Friday.

He said that none of the political parties was ready to accept the election results, but the Election Commission of Pakistan was not ready to cooperate in release of actual number of votes to the losing candidates.

Muqam claims his party’s mandate stolen on July 25

“On my request vote recount was started in PK-4, Swat-III, and in 101 polling stations I secured 82 votes more than my rival candidate, but the recounting process was immediately stopped on the pretext that four bags of votes are missing,” he said.

Mr Muqam said that his party knew the entire story about rigging, but even then it did not want to adopt any undemocratic way for seeking justice.

“We have options to adopt the way of Imran Khan who observed 126-day sit-in and paralysed life in Islamabad and the other way is to raise voice in and outside the parliament and give a tough time to the government. We preferred to exploit weakness of the government, create awareness among masses and reorganise the party at the grassroots level to make preparations for the next elections,” he said.

The PML-N leader claimed that credit went to his party’s government which launched many mega development schemes across the country to overcome poverty and unemployment and China Pakistan Economic Corridor was one of them.

He claimed that the previous PTI-led provincial government had failed to initiate any such project during its five years rather started work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and ruined the entire road infrastructure of Peshawar.

In the past, he said, the PTI would hide its government’s weaknesses by blaming PML-N’s federal government for non-cooperation, but now it would have no such excuse as it would be in power both in the centre and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to resolve all the issues pertaining to net hydel profit, NFC, funding to new tribal districts, controlling energy crisis, construction of new dams, etc.

Earlier, speaking at the meeting Mr Muqam said that defeat was part of the election process, but in the recent elections their mandate was stolen.

He said that Nawaz Sharif was bravely facing the trials and tribulations and thus his workers would follow him to strengthen democracy in the country.

PML-N provincial general secretary Murtaza Javaid Abbasi, provincial spokesman Ikhtiar Wali, Sardar Yousuf, district and divisional leaders, including Ms Tahira Bukhari of Peshawar, Malik Jahanzeb of Malakand division, Sheraz Khan of Swabi, Hamid Shah of Haripur, Iftikharuddin of Chitral, Arsallah Khan Hoti of Mardan, Qaimoos Khan of Swat, Hayat Khan of Upper Dir and others, also shared details about rigging in the election.

These speakers said that the elections were held at a time when legs and hands of their leaders were ‘tied up’ and candidates were not given level-playing field for campaign.

Mr Abbasi said that the office-bearers would meet once a month in Peshawar to supervise performance of the organisational units.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2018