LAHORE, Feb 24: Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif said here on Sunday that he had complete confidence in the Election Commission of Pakistan.

“We trusted the Election Commission earlier and trust it even now,” he told reporters outside the house of a PML-N activist.

Answering a question about demands for scrutiny of candidates by the ECP under certain constitutional conditions, Mr Sharif said papers of people aspiring for PML-N ticket for the coming elections were being scrutinised under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

He rejected a perception that his party was promoting the culture of switching loyalty by luring loyalists of other parties into the PML-N and said that people fed up with PPP’s policies were joining his party. Even those who were not needed were also joining the PML-N, he added.

Asked why his party had voted for PPP’s prime minister, Mr Sharif said the PML-N had done so for the love of the country and not of the PPP.

He said he doubts that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had really parted ways with the PPP and accused the latter of indulging in politics of hypocrisy in Sindh. “I cannot comment on the PPP-MQM relationship and whether their split is real or fake.”

Mr Sharif said he could not understand why the MQM had quit the Sindh coalition government after remaining part of it for four years and 11 months.

“The MQM left the government only 15 days before the expiry of its tenure and joined the opposition ranks at this stage; it is a mystery for me. This may be a sham,” he said, adding that it would be exposed at the time of formation of the caretaker set-up in Sindh.

He advised the PPP to end its politics of hypocrisy in Sindh. He said he wondered that the PPP had distributed sweets after the adoption of the Local Government Act and later got it repealed and again distributed sweets.