ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday ordered the recounting of and verification of thumb impressions on votes polled in two National Assembly and seven Punjab Assembly seats.

After allegations of rigging on PP-39 (Khushab-I), PP-43 (Mianwali-I), PP-205 (Multan-XII), PP-9 (Rawalpindi-IX), PP-257 (Muzaffargarh-VII), PP-155 (Lahore-XIX) and PP-156 (Lahore-XX) as well as two National Assembly seats, including NA-125 (Lahore-VIII), the commission ordered the recounting and thumb impressions' verification.

It is pertinent to note that activists of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) had alleged rigging during the election for NA-125 and had staged a sit-in to register their protest over the result from the said constituency.

Earlier, Khawaja Saad Rafique of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) was said to have won from the seat securing over 120,000 votes and defeating PTI’s Hamid Khan (83,000). After which, Khan had requested the ECP for a vote recount on NA-125, which the commission had reportedly rejected at the time.