Daily Times

ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered verification of voters’ thumb impressions in NA-125 Lahore constituency wherein Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique was elected in the 2013 general election.

The apex court directed the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to verify the record of all voters in NA-125 and submit a report within three months.

The three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali heard the plea filed by Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique against his disqualification by an election tribunal.

The court also directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to provide the entire record of counterfoils and ballot papers to the NADRA for verification.

Saad Rafique had defeated Hamid Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in NA-125. An election tribunal had called for re-elections in constituencies NA-125 and PP-155 after an application filed by the PTI’s candidate and subsequent findings of irregularities in the records of 2013 general elections by a judicial commission.

Later speaking to the media outside the court building, Saad Rafiq said his party wanted the rigging issue to be settled once and for all. “My lawyer could have objected over the verification by NADRA as there is no such legal standing but we did accept it with an open heart,” he said.

The minister said they were ready for even votes recounting. He said he had no objection over the verification of voters’ record. He, however, voiced concerns about the substandard election material provided by the ECP during the 2013 general elections.

He questioned as to whether the thumb impressions could be verified after the lapse of over two and a half years. “It has been established that the magnetic ink was substandard and was not even available at some of the polling stations,” he claimed.