MPs approve panel to probe poll rigging

Parliamentary body will have equal representation of ruling party, opposition

Pakistan’s National Assembly (NA) yesterday approved the formation of a parliamentary committee, comprising an equal number of government and opposition lawmakers, to investigate allegations of rigging in the July 25 general elections.

A government lawmaker said the issue, which was kept pending since Imran Khan’s election from the National Assembly last month, now stands resolved as far as constitution of a probe committee is concerned.

The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) had boycotted the Presidential Address to the Parliament because of what it said was the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government’s backtracking on its earlier commitment.

No Senate members

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi presented the motion in the Lower House of the Parliament, which was unanimously approved by the NA. The session was convened to approve amendments to the budget.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also attended the National Assembly’s session.

Before approval of the motion, there was an exchange of comments from both sides of the House and member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Shazia Marri suggested an opposition lawmaker should chair the probe committee.

According to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the probe body would have equal representation from the government and the opposition, however responding to Marri’s suggestion, he stressed that a government lawmaker would be chairperson of the committee, while no members of the Senate would sit on it.

Fully ‘empowered’

Qureshi had earlier announced the probe committee would have proportionate representation from the treasury and opposition benches.

However, after talks with opposition leaders, the government agreed to equal representation from either side.

The parliamentary committee will prepare the Terms of Reference (Tor) to investigate the charges of rigging in the July 25 elections, Qureshi said, adding that the body would be fully “empowered”. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said it would be independent.

It was not only the PML-N and PPP who had raised allegations of rigging in the July 25 elections but leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) Maulana Fazlur Rehman, as well as representatives of the Muttahida Quami Movement, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and nationalist parties of Balochistan had also termed the elections engineered and rigged and demanded a thorough inquiry into the elections.