ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission looking into allegations of systematic rigging in the 2013 general election will begin recording testimony of witnesses on May 6 and as a first step, has summoned 14 witnesses named in the list provided by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

The decision to record and examine evidence under oath to bring appropriate documents from the list of PTI witnesses as well as others on the record, was reached during a meeting held on April 29 between the judicial commission and the counsel representing different political parties.

Read: Probe into poll rigging: Sethi wants JC to hear him first

The individuals summoned by the commission are Nabeel Gabol, the former MNA from NA-246 Karachi, for his public statements relating to accusations of rigging; anchorpersons Najam Sethi, who also acted as caretaker chief minister of Punjab during the last elections, and Hamid Mir; former chief secretary to the Punjab caretaker government Javed Iqbal; managing directors of the Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP) who held office at the time of acquisition and printing of ballot papers during the elections in Karachi, Islamabad as well as Lahore; managing director of the Postal Foundation Press at Islamabad; programme head of the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) Muddasir Rizvi; former additional chief secretary to the Punjab caretaker government; the provincial election commissioners from Punjab and Sindh; the managing director of the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, Karachi who held office at the time of acquisition and printing of ballot papers for 2013 elections and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Chairman Usman Mobeen.

The commission has directed these individuals to appear before it on Tuesday at 1pm in the Supreme Court.

The list of witnesses is the same that PTI submitted before the commission on April 25, emphasising that the evidence of officials and persons identified in the list was relevant to enable the commission to make determinations regarding whether the elections were rigged by design.

While declaring its list preliminary and non-exhaustive, the PTI had also argued before the commission that it reserved the right to seek summoning and examination of additional witnesses as the proceedings of the commission and its inquiry progress.

Also read: Judicial commission posits three questions to political parties

The PTI contended that the testimony, statements and evidence of these persons had direct nexus with the three terms of reference of the presidential ordinance which the commission has to inquire into and determine. Therefore their examination is necessary, appropriate and warranted, emphasised the PTI.

The senior counsel representing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had earlier told reporters that the witnesses produced by the PTI would be cross-examined by PML-N.

Neither former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry nor former Supreme Court judge Khalilur Rehman Ramday featured in the PTI list, though the party leadership repeatedly accused both of manipulating the elections by appointing returning officers of their choosing.

The PTI’s Ishaq Khakwani had told the media earlier that as the hearing progressed and the need to summon him arose, the party would certainly cross-examine the former chief justice.

It was the PML-Q, however, which through its counsel Dr Khalid Ranjha pleaded before the commission that the registrars of the Supreme Court as well as the Lahore High Court be summoned to produce the record of all communications between then CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry and the returning officers to determine whether the former chief justice was exercising control over the ROs.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2015

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