In a high-level meeting on Wednesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), rejected rigging allegations levelled by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Afzal Khan, ex-additional secretary ECP. The meeting, which was chaired by Acting Chief Commissioner Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, reviewed the statements submitted by the Provincial Commissioner Punjab who denied printing of extra ballot papers during 2013 general elections at private printing presses in Lahore's Urdu Bazaar.
Provincial Election Commissioner, Punjab, Mahboob Anwar, rebutted the charges levelled against him by Imran Khan. In a statement, he said that in May, 2013 general elections, for the province of the Punjab, 10,72,23,600 ballot papers the Commission got printed from PCP presses in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi as well as Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, Karachi and the same were provided directly to the returning officers by the concerned presses under proper delivery receipts, record of which is available with the respective presses.
The commission further reviewed the PTI questions about the law under which the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry purportedly addressed the Returning Officers in Lahore. The commission also reviewed the statement submitted by Election Commission member former Justice Riaz Kayani who stated that he was blamed for destroying 90 percent of elections and urged that this was a general allegation and it should have been specified whether he had committed any wrong in the polls.
On Monday, Afzal Khan former additional secretary ECP, made startling revelations about rigging in 2013 elections and alleged that Justice Riaz Kayani and the then Chief Justice Ifthikhar Chaudhry, were responsible for rigging in the elections. Khan opened a Pandora's Box by boldly claiming that people's mandate was stolen in the 2013 elections, adding that Riaz Kayani was the principal character behind rigging.