ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcast Fawad Chaudhry apologised to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over his caustic remarks against the constitutional body.
The commission served notice on Chaudhry and Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati on September 16, asking them to provide evidence of the accusations of bribes and always rigging” the elections they had levelled against it and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.
In a press conference along with Swati in September, Chaudhry had accused Raja of acting as a “mouthpiece for the opposition parties”.
Later that month, during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs to discuss proposed amendments to the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2021, Swati came down hard on the commission and said it should be “set on fire” for making fun of the government and “ruining” the democracy in Pakistan.
Responding to the duo, the ECP rejected his allegations and decided to demand evidence from them in this regard.
The ECP members also expressed anger over ministers for accusing them of taking bribes. The allegations are baseless and unacceptable as the ECP is a constitutional department, they said.
Chaudhry appeared before the commission on Tuesday for the hearing during which the bench ordered him to tender an apology “in black and white”.
The minister said he appeared before the commission because he did not want to indulge in any sort of rejoinders, requesting the commission to close the case.
Chaudhry said he was a lawyer himself and was also the spokesperson of the government. “I did not swear […] or abuse anyone. I’m also a barrister. Please accept my apology,” he pleaded.
At this, the commission asked him to submit a written response before the bench.
This was not the first time when the body faced strong criticism and serious allegations from the ruling party. In March as well, the commission after the Senate polls had advised the party to stop mudslinging and come up with evidence if it had any objections to the constitutional requirements, declaring the institution would not succumb to any pressure.
