Daily Times Editorial Aug 17, 2013

An exercise in futility Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali has acceded to the request contained in a letter to him by Imran Khan that a probe be conducted into rigging allegations in the May 11 general elections. Chaudhry sahib has proposed a committee to be formed by the National Assembly comprising treasury and opposition members to conduct investigations into not just the four constituencies Imran Khan has been highlighting but in 40 constituencies to be proposed half and half by the government and opposition. This 20-20 match will be started by the government and opposition proposing the names of their nominated members for the committee and the finalisation of its terms of reference within three days. To avoid the impression that the issue would be brushed under the carpet through an inconclusive committee procedure, Chaudhry Nisar suggested a timeline of one month for the committee to conclude its findings. The committee, according to him, would be empowered to summon the former caretaker prime minister, ministers, returning officers and officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan. Through this generous concession, Chaudhry Nisar has given all the parties in parliament a chance to prove their allegations of rigging beyond any shadow of doubt. However, if they fail to do so conclusively, the issue will likely end up buried under the pile of similar such committees and their outcome. Meanwhile the white paper on rigging in the elections that the PTI was expected to reveal yesterday stands postponed until August 21, ostensibly because of the rains (!). The white paper promises to produce investigations and ‘proof’ of rigging in 300 constituencies throughout the country. It is premature to comment on the white paper until it sees the light of day, except to say that it is interesting the PTI’s original focus on four constituencies was broadened to 300 in the white paper, while the party has accepted the investigations into 40 constituencies offered by Chaudhry Nisar Ali. The whole brouhaha about election rigging, with the PTI leading the charge, is misplaced concreteness. Four, 40, or even 300 constituencies’ investigation is unlikely to overturn the mandate delivered by the electorate on May 11. Even if in some constituencies rigging is proved beyond doubt, pointing to the possible unseating of the member elected, there is no guarantee the change will benefit one party at the expense of all the others. A ‘divided’ correction of the election results will benefit many parties perhaps, and leave things as they are, most likely. In any case, no parliamentary committee is empowered under the law and constitution to unseat any member, no matter how solid the proof it finds against the legitimacy of his election. The proper forum for such review are the election tribunals, whose legendary delays in procedure and verdicts are anathema to Imran Khan (and indirectly earned him the wrath of the Supreme Court for ‘indiscreet’ language). The tribunals are now expected to hear all petitions on a day-to-day basis and deliver their verdict within four months. That should, in all reasonableness, satisfy all comers. The committee being proposed is at best an exercise in futility, at worst either a ploy by the Interior Minister to throw the issue into the welter of inconclusive confusion so familiar where parliamentary committees are concerned, or distract the attention of parliament from more important problems awaiting the attention and focus of parliament: terrorism (no sign so far of a counter-terrorism policy), energy (a solution seemingly still pie in the sky), and the economy (subject to the first two and building business confidence in the country’s future). The precious time of parliament would be better spent on these areas rather than chasing the will o’ the wisp of ‘rigging’ that may not be more than the product of the fevered imagination of parties disappointed by the results.