LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) took strong exception to Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s claim that fair elections are possible without PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in the cipher case, and other party leaders who were jailed following the May 9 riots.

In a statement issued on Monday, the HRCP reminded the caretaker PM that the verdict is still not out against Mr Khan and his party leaders. “Mr Kakar’s claims are anti-democratic and ill-judged,” it added.

“The prime minister should be aware that it is not for him or his government to decide unilaterally what constitutes a ‘fair’ election,” the statement highlighted.

In an interview with the Associated Press last week, caretaker PM Kakar had said that fair elections can take place without Khan or hundreds of members of his party who are jailed because they engaged in unlawful activities including vandalism and arson, a reference to the events of May 9.

However, the PM had added that the thousands of people in Khan’s party who didn’t engage in unlawful activities, “will be running the political process, they will be participating in the elections”.

The PTI had rejected the caretaker premier’s statement over the weekend, saying that it reflected “the insensitivity found in the state structure regarding the Constitution, democracy and national interests” and that any elections without Imran Khan would be “unacceptable, unlawful and unconstitutional”.

In its statement, the HRCP also noted that the systematic way in which the PTI leadership has been dismantled — in the shape of mass arrests and rearrests, forced dissociation from the party, the disproportionate number of cases filed against political leaders and workers (including in military courts), and curbs on their freedom of expression and assembly — has not produced a level playing field.

Describing it as a ‘cause of concern’, the HRCP also observed that this declaration continued a trend of pre-election manipulation, a pattern that was similarly evident in 2018. The commission also expressed disapproval of the repeated arrests of former Punjab chief minister and PTI President Parvez Elahi, which have occurred in defiance of high court directives.

“HRCP reminds the government that responsibility for ensuring free and fair elections falls on the Election Commission of Pakistan,” the statement said.

“The caretaker government must desist from making irresponsible, partisan statements on matters not within its mandate. Instead, it must ensure that an environment conducive to free, fair, credible and inclusive elections is created and maintained,” it added.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2023