TWO important developments on Thursday made it clear that we are yet not ready to learn from past mistakes and are bent upon repeating them, causing great harm to the core interests of the country. In a dramatic development, former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaqat Ali Chatta, who made headlines by alleging that he was part of the rigging plan in Rawalpindi where results have changed to defeat the actual winners, took a U-turn and told the investigation committee of the Election Commission of Pakistan that he did so at the instance of a senior leader of PTI and apologized for his blunder. And at a time when, according to Bloomberg News, Pakistan plans to seek a new loan of at least $6 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), incarcerated PTI leader Imran Khan has made his intention known to write letter to IFIs (International Finance Institutions) including IMF urging them not to enter into any deal with the country because of alleged rigging in general elections.
The two issues are intrinsically linked as the false accusations of Chatta, levelled at the instance of the PTI, were part of the plan to discredit the entire electoral process and now based on this and similar other allegations of rigging are made basis of writing letter to the IFIs in a bid to deprive the country of smooth sailing in its expected re-engagement with the IMF after assumption of power by the new government in Islamabad. Chatta was cited by propagandists as a courageous and role model government servant who did not care about his long bureaucratic career and made the secret rigging plan public. Now the same senior official, in a formal written statement, has retracted his earlier allegations acknowledging that the whole purpose of his press conference was to create sensations and drama augmenting false narratives being built by the PTI. It was agreed with the PTI that he would give sweeping and emotional statements by suggesting that all the seats were being won by the PTI candidates and that he helped in changing the entire results against the PTI. Moving on, he noted that the name of CJP Isa was taken with the aim of creating mistrust in the general public against him. “The chief justice did not have any role in the entire election process.” The allegations were not ordinary and the Commissioner was quoted widely by the international media, raising questions about transparency of the general elections and bringing bad name to the country. Therefore, his fresh confession must not be left at that, he may be proceeded against under the relevant laws and the probe should be expanded to include the senior leader of the PTI, who managed Chatta drama from behind-the-scenes. As for allegations of rigging, the accusers want their version of polls and their outcome accepted without any challenge whereas none of them has so far established these allegations in the court of law. Islamabad High Court (IHC) apparently lent support to such unsubstantiated allegations by suspending result notifications for three winners of the National Assembly seats from Islamabad but the Election Commission, on the basis of official record, turned down petitions of the accusers and reinstated result notifications. It is all the more intriguing that the PTI is once again approaching the IMF against the interests of the country. It tried to scuttle the IMF deal when negotiations were on between the then coalition government and the lender. PTI’s Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin was caught on tape while asking the party’s provincial finance ministers in Punjab and the KP to write letters stating that their respective ministries will not return the surplus budget to the federal government, which will critically affect the then ongoing deals between the Government of Pakistan and IMF regarding the economic situation of the state. The PTI delegations also met with the IMF official to convey their opposition to a possible deal. It is a sorry state of affairs that things are not taken to the logical conclusion and that is why this inactive approach of the authorities concerned is encouraging detractors to re-enact such dramas every now and then inflicting enormous harm to the country. We are sure the international institutions would not buy false allegations of the party and remain engaged with Pakistan.
