Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) counsel on Monday urged the General Election 2013 Inquiry Commission (GEIC) to summon Syed Sher Afghan, then Additional Secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), as witness in the matter.
Appearing before the commission headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, PML-N counsel Shahid Hamid, ECP counsel Salman Akram Raja cross-examined Mehboob Anwar, former Provincial Election Commissioner of the Punjab whereas Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, counsel for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) requested the Commission to postpone the hearing till final verification of the documents provided by his client.
The GEIC allowed the PTI counsel to re-examine the witnesses of the case. During the cross examination, Mehboob Anwar informed the GEIC that representatives of the Returning Officers (ROs) directly collected the ballot papers from the Printing Press. Anwar also informed about polling schemes in the general election 2013 including list of polling stations in a constituency, and the number of registered voters in each polling station. Mehboob Anwar said that 78 persons were sent to Printing Corporation Islamabad but he did not know how many were employed by the press for the required purpose.
The former provincial election commissioner also informed the GEIC that except PTI there was no complaint from any other party about the conduct of general election. There was also no complaint against any official working under the Provincial Election Commission, he said. He said that it was correct that the ECP staff was deputed in all the five printing presses, where the elections material was being printed.
Anwar further said that he didn't receive any complaint against RO or District Election Commissioners, saying that the ROs and DROs were notified by designation and not by names. He said that all the staff, working with ROs and DROs was also from judiciary. Responding to the counsel of the PML-N Shahid Hamid the former provincial election commissioner informed he was not present in the meeting wherein former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry addressed ROs, DROs and AROs. Hearing of the Commission was adjourned till May 12 (today).
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