LAHORE: The PTI-backed defeated candidate, Dr Yasmin Rashid’s legal counsel Ahmad Awais has said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif set aside morality, truth, articles 62, 63 of the Constitution and took oath as an MNA on the basis of “fabricated” results of NA-130.

Speaking at a news conference at the Lahore Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Awais said that Mr Sharif could be put on trial and disqualified for five years for taking oath “on the basis of lies and hypocrisy”.

He added that a case of misconduct could also be initiated against the three judges, who convicted PTI founder Imran Khan in “shady trials”.

Mr Awais claimed Dr Rashid was 20,000 votes ahead of Nawaz Sharif as per results from 334 polling stations, but in the remaining 42 polling stations some 107,077 votes were added to Sharif’s vote tally, while votes of the PTI-backed candidate were increased by 5,000.

In the results from the Government Girls High School Begum Kot, Shahdara polling station, he claimed, Dr Rashid got 387 votes, while Mr Sharif got 284 votes, but the result on a website showed that Mr Sharif got 1,284 votes. “The irony of the situation is that this polling station had only 763 registered votes,” he said.

Mr Awais said this “dirty game of changing results” had defamed Pakistan world over and even those were criticized, who had always been the heroes of this nation. “If they (heroes) will not take notice in time, Pakistan will face serious consequences,” he warned.

Acknowledging that the polling environment remained peaceful throughout the election day, he said, the problem arose when the powers that be directed the electronic media to stop airing results.

Late on Feb 8 night, Mr Awais claimed that a senior police officer along with policemen entered the returning officer’s office and sent Dr Rashid’s polling agents out and later the RO was changed to “fabricate the results”.

Mr Awais said the country was passing through a very critical juncture and if the mandate of the majority was trampled, the “government formed on the basis of fake results” would not be able to run the country.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2024