Former Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan on Thursday told General Election Inquiry Commission (GEIC) that magnetic ink was used in the general election in consultation with the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra).
On Thursday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada cross examined the former secretary ECP, who said while recording testimony that additional secretary of the ECP and director general of the Nadra gave approval to the sample of the magnetic ink, adding that PCSIR Karachi prepared inkpad in accordance with the requisition.
Khan further said that Returning Officer had to inform the provincial election commission about required quantity of ballot papers, saying that the ECP has not devised any special formula to print extra ballot papers for the general election 2013. Abdul Hafeez Pirzada concluded cross examination of the former secretary ECP on Thursday whereas the counsels for Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz, Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and ECP shall examine him on May 29 (today).
Meanwhile, filing reply in pursuance of the GEIC earlier directives, PPPP counsels Sardar Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa and Aitzaz Ahsan said: "The election result was a shocking surprise especially in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) - The Returning Officers and Presiding Officers were used to subvert the results." Through the submitted reply the PPPP said, "It will examine witnesses at the appropriate time if so desired, the material and record it relies contained in the Electoral Bags of the constituencies in the Punjab and KPK - In addition it will submit an analysis by experts drawn from statistics given in a DVD obtained from the ECP".
In response to the GEIC question to parties of the matter, "Do you allege that the general election 2013 were manipulated or influenced pursuant to a systematic effort by design by anyone," the PPPP submitted reply that it is primarily duty of the GEIC itself, saying that even if no party were to answer these questions the Commission has to carry the burden of discovering the plan/design and its authors.
However, the PPPP submitted, "The plan/design was to make it lose in the Punjab and KPK - The identity of the planners will surely be revealed by the inspection of the said record and record with the ECP - If, for instance, bags with seals intact consistently show destruction of certain specific record, such as Form XIV and XV, or the voters list, the Returning Officers will have been the instrument and this circumstance will point in one direction - If, however, the very seals of bags are found missing, mutilated or broken, this circumstance will point in another direction - it is primarily the duty of this Commission to find out the planners - This will be revealed from the condition of the electoral record."
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