Pakistan commission rejects poll-rigging claims

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that the Judicial Commission created to investigate any alleged rigging during the General Elections of 2013 has submitted its report with no evidence of any rigging found.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly sent mangoes to Indian leaders, in a bid to promote goodwill between the two countries.

However, it also maintained that PTI’s request to conduct a probe into alleged rigging in the May 2013 polls was not “entirely unjustified”.

It said the election was “in large part organised and conducted fairly and in accordance with the law” and allegations of a plot to rig the result were not supported by evidence.

Sharif said that the verdict of the Commission is also validation of the concept that issues can be resolved through constitutional forums and not on roads or through sit-ins. “It is a proof that the problems are solved in the parliament, not on roads and streets”, he said.

He said the country was also progressing in its fight against terrorism and its civil and military institutions were making remarkable gains against terrorism through the Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The Prime Minister said he himself was overseeing the entire process.

“This journey should introduce us to a new era of peace, prosperity and progress”, he added.

On the other hand, the PTI exercised restraint and said it would come out with a response after going through contents of the commission’s report.

Sharif said that the government intends to pursue constructive policy of mutual consultations, reconciliation and consensus building in future like it had been doing since polls.

The panel has asked the law ministry to itself take a decision about publicizing the report, insiders said.

The Commission, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, has held that the plan or design to manipulate or influence the election has not been disclosed with any degree of specification by any of the parties to the proceedings. “I had promised the politics of values instead of politics of power”, he said.

Prime Minister Sharif said despite all provocations, “we exhibited tolerance and tried to resolve the issues with democratic spirit”.