Widespread Pre-Poll Rigging Rattles Pakistan: Reports of Arrests, Abductions and Harassment
In a yet another reprehensible display of unabashed fascism and a shameless assault on democracy, a plethora of reports has emerged in the last 24 hour, laying bare a disturbing and calculated campaign of pre-poll rigging aimed squarely at candidates associated with Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in Pakistan. This nauseating pattern unfolds across diverse regions, painting a chilling picture of a systematic and concerted effort to stifle opposition voices and, in turn, corrode the very foundations of the electoral process. This is not just an attack on individual candidates; it is a blatant affront to the democratic principles we hold dear. The perpetrators of this orchestrated campaign against PTI candidates demonstrate a callous disregard for the sanctity of democratic norms, exposing their ruthless agenda to subvert the will of the people.
Here is a long list of events that have transpired involving PTI candidates before they submitted their nomination forms.
Day 1- 21st December 2023
Imran Khan’s Nomination Papers
Imran Khan's lawyer, who went to Adiala Jail to obtain his signature on nomination documents, was kept in unlawful custody for several hours, before being released.
Attock - Major Tahir Sadiq
In Attock, Major Tahir Sadiq’s family faced adversity as their nomination papers were confiscated. Police conducted illegal raids on all of the family members houses, harassed them and confiscated their nomination papers.
Mianwali – Umair Khan Niazi
Nomination papers of Umair Niazi were seized, and Amjad Niazi endured torture in jail, facing a refusal to obtain necessary signatures.
North Punjab, Khushab District
Umar Aslam Awan, Hassan Aslam Awan, Fateh Khaliq Bandial: The person tasked with filing their nomination documents was abducted from outside the Returning Officer's office.
Chakwal District - Malik Akhtar Shehbaz
Arrested by Kallar Kahar police from the Assistant Commissioner's office when he was there to file his nomination documents.
Sargodha - Malik Shafqat Awan
Returning officer’s bias was evident as Malik Shafqat Awan’s nomination papers were refused, and Barrister Abdullah Kahlon faced an illegal house raid to harass him.
Lahore - Hafiz Farhat
Nomination papers forcibly taken away from his lawyers.
Lahore – Hammad Azhar
Police and "unknown individuals" raided his home, searching for nomination papers.
Lahore - Hassaan Niazi
Prison authorities did not allow access to obtain his signature on nomination papers.
Lahore - Sanam Javed
Jailer did not allow access to get her to sign nomination papers.
Wazirabad – Ahmad Chattha
Ahmad Chattha and his legal team were stopped from entering the RO’s office. They tortured and harassed them and confiscated their nomination papers.
Hafizabad District - Shaukat Bhatti
Nomination papers of Shaukat Bhatti were snatched by the police.
Gujranwala – NA 77 - Mian Tariq
Returning officer’s bias was reported as Former MNA Mian Tariq’s papers were declined,
Gujranwala - Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Chaudhry Muhammad Ali’s papers were torn by the police. Police did not let his lawyers enter the RO’s office who came to submit his papers.
Toba Tek Singh - Usama Hamza
Picked up by police and unidentified individuals the day before filing of nomination papers.
District Sialkot – Hyder Gul
Hyder Gul was arrested from the RO office, and
District Sialkot – Ahsan Ghulam Abbas
Ahsan Ghulam Abbas faced house raids in search of nomination papers.
Central Punjab, Gujarat District
RO insisted on personal submissions from PTI candidates, adding an additional layer of scrutiny which is not a requirement.
Jhang District - Sheikh Waqas Akram
Sheikh Waqas Akram encountered intimidation threats, with his petrol pumps closed to prevent paper submission. His nomination papers were snatched by the police.
Bahawalnagar – NA 160 - Shaukat Basra
Shaukat Basra’s lawyers and friends who went to submit his nomination papers were illegally arrested and tortured.
Bahawalnagar – Samiullah Chaudhry
Samiullah Chaudhry’s home was raided, in search of his nomination papers.
Multan - Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Tehreek-e-Insaf vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s lawyers faced the seizure of his nomination papers and other important files.
Khanewal District - Abid Mahmood Khaga
Arrested from the Returning Officer's office while in the process of getting election forms.
Wahari – Zahid Iqbal
Zahid Iqbal lawyer was illegally arrested, and his nomination papers were snatched.
District Layyah - Niaz Ahmed Jhakkar
Niaz Ahmed Jhakkar’s house was vandalized, and employees were kidnapped a day before the submission of nomination papers.
Day 2 - 22nd December 2023
Karachi East - NA 236 - Firdaus Shamim Naqvi
Firdaus Shamim Naqvi submitted his nomination papers, but he has been receiving threats of abduction to withdraw his nomination since then.
Layyah - Niaz Ahmed
Former MNA Nayaz Ahmed and PTI leader Malik Owais Niaz Jhakra have been facing police harassment and their homes were vandalized after they submitted their nomination papers.
Karachi - NA 241 - Khurram Sher Zaman
Police raided his home past midnight after he submitted his nominations.
Jhang - Shaikh Waqas Akram
Former Federal Minister Shaikh Waqas Akram faced illegal police search as a tactic to harass and threaten him. They also tore down his posters.
PTI North Punjab - Talha Kiyani
Gen Secretary Talha Kiyani faced illegal raids at his home.
Kohat - Tahir Saeed
Advocate Tahir Saeed and lawyer Mofaqar, members of DBA Kohat, went missing since midday while submitting Advocate Aftab Aalam’s papers before AC Dera Adam Khel.
Sargodha – NA 83 – Usama Mela
Usama Mela District President PTI Sargodha NA 83 – his home was ransacked and vandalized for two nights in a row in order to harass him and force him not to submit his nomination papers.
Sargodha - Abdullah Mumtaz Kahloon
His Home was raided, and police destroyed his property in search of nomination documents.
Sargodha – Ch Sohail Gujjar
His petrol pump and house were vandalized for to harass him and force him not to submit his nomination papers.
PP 119 and PP 153 Candidates
PP 119 and PP 153 candidate were denied entry to the Returning Officer’s office by police, and they were asked to hand over the papers to the police. Candidates visited the Election office to file a complaint.
Sargodha – Barrister Abdullah Muntaha Kahloon
Police decimated his office and returned later to vandalize his uncle’s home to stop him from contesting in elections.
Lahore - NA 127 - Senator Ejaz Chaudhry
His papers were submitted by his lawyers but were snatched away. His proposer and seconder were later arrested too.
Misc.
Naeem Haider Panjhuta shared names of candidates who were either abducted, their homes ransacked, or their representatives picked up:
- Usama Ghayas District President Sargodha
- Representatives of Sarfaraz Cheema, Shafqat Awan and Omar Ayub
Day 3 - 23rd December 2023
Lahore - PP 153 - Syeda Fatima
She was disallowed entry into the RO office as the policeman attempted to snatch her nomination papers
Gujrat – Ch Pervez Elahi and Ch Moonis Elahi
Aamir Saeed Rawn, Advocate Supreme Court and ex Secretary Lahore High Court Bar Association was authorised attorney of Moonis Elahi and Ch Pervaiz Elahi for filing nomination papers in Gujrat. He was abducted by the Police a night before.
Lahore - Amir Jaleel Siddiqui
Former VP of Lahore High Court Bar Association was denied entry to the Returning Officer’s office.
Kot Addu – NA 179 - Shabbir Qureshi
Shabbir Qureshi was asked to return on Saturday to file his papers by ECP; upon approaching the RO, he was told that it cannot be allowed as only PMLN candidate are allowed to contest for that constituency. His wife has also been trying to submit his papers for the past 2 days.
Lahore NA 129 - Hammad Azhar
Hammad Azhar’s nomination papers were declined by the RO Ghulam Mustafa Dogar who said that Hammad Azhar was “not allowed to do so”.
Gujrat – Ch Pervez Elahi
Mother of Moonis Elahi was threatened and attacked by men in plain clothes roaming around in the court when she came to submitting the nomination papers on behalf of her husband, former CM Punjab, Ch Pervez Elahi unlawfully.
Mansehra - NA 14 Candidates
Kamal Khan Swati and Baber Saleem Swati were turned away from the RO’s office after refusing to accept their papers.
Lahore - PP 156 - Sheikh Imtiaz
Wife of Sheikh Imtiaz Mehmood was mistreated and abused when she went to submit her husband’s papers; policemen in plainclothes at the RO’s office detained her till late night at the office. They also took away the nomination papers as well as her personal belongings and her money.
Lahore - Akmal Khan Bari
Akmal Khan Bari went missing from Lahore since leaving to submit his nominations papers earlier in the same day.
PP-162 - Ammar Bashir Gujjar
Lawyer of Ammar Bashir, Advocate Waqar Mushtaq was arrested while submitting his client’s papers. His colleagues visited him earlier during the day but later the police station is denying that they detained anyone by that name. (6:00pm Pak time)
Lahore - NA 127 - Senator Ejaz Chaudhry
Second attempt was made at the RO’s to submit Senator Ejaz Chaudhry’s papers for NA 127 by his legal counsel - entry to RO office was denied again.
Muzzafargarh - Sardar Mohiuddin Khosa
PTI leader Sardar Mohiuddin Khosa’s lawyers were arrested, and his papers were taken away.
Lahore - Aliya Hamza
Former MPA Aliya Hamza (currently jailed) was submitting her papers through her lawyer, Khaqan Mir, who was abducted, and her nomination papers were confiscated.
Lahore - Hafiz Farhat Abbas
Additional Sec General Hafiz Farhat Abbas’s nomination papers were being submitted through his lawyers.
Muzzafargarh - NA 175 - Jamshed Dasti
Wife of Jamshed Dasti went to submit his papers. She was flatly refused by the RO citing ‘orders from above’.
Lahore – Dr. Yasmin Rashid
Her 80 years old husband was roughed up and abducted when he tried to submit Dr. Yasmin Rashid’s nomination papers.
Gujrat - PP 31 – Saleem Sarwar Jora
Saleem Sarwar Jora - Ex PTI MPA’s lawyers were refused 4 times when they tried to submit his papers.
Melsi - PP 235 - Azhar Khan Yousafzai
Azhar Khan Yousafzai’s house was ransacked as a pressure tactic to stop his paper submission.
PP 06 - Major Latasub Satti
Police destroyed the house of Major Latasub Satti to pressurize him into not submitting papers.
Talagang - NA 59 - Hafiz Ammar Yasir
Hafiz Ammar Yasir’s lawyers, proposer and seconder was arrested by police.
Lahore - Mian Aslam Iqbal
His lawyers were threatened with arrests and bogus charges, over the phone to not come in to submit his papers. They were not allowed to submit nomination papers.
Misc.
- Advocate Latif Khosa’s daughter-in-law and her 5 colleagues were arrested, and nomination papers were taken away by force.
- Zartaj Gul’s legal team was stopped at entrance to the RO office from filing papers of her covering candidate.
- Chaudhry Tahir Iqbal’s papers’ snatching attempt was foiled by his lawyers and workers accompanying him.
- Malik Jahangir Husain’s papers were snatched third time in a row by the RO office.
Day 4 - 24th December 2023
Sargodha - Intizar Husain Panjhuta
Intizar Husain Panjhuta - A part of Imran Khan’s legal core committee; the RO officer asked his team to wait and then flatly refused accepting his nomination papers.
Attock - Qazi Ahmad Akbar Khan
PTI leader Qazi Ahmad Akbar Khan’s proposer and seconder Moawiya Khan Ali Zai and Nadeem Ishtiaq Bhatti were arrested falsely linking them to the May 9th events after 8 months.
Lahore - Karamat Khokhar
PTI leader Karamat Khokhar was trying to file his nomination papers unsuccessfully since last 3 days but was being denied.
PP 31 - Salman Sarwar
Salman Sarwar was trying to submit his own and father’s nomination paper unsuccessfully since last 3 days.
PP 131 - Candidates
Chaudhry Saleem Sarwar and Chaudhry Tasleem Sarwar Jora got court orders to submit their nomination papers, but their RO refused to collect their papers despite court orders.
PP 173
Police arrested PTI lawyers, Adv Salman Shahid and Yousuf Wyne and took them to an unknown location. They were submitting papers for their clients from PP 173. They were released later at night.
NA 154 Lodhran - Khan Akhtar Khan Kanju
Khan Akhtar Khan Kanju’s nomination papers were filed today after multiple attempts by his lawyers.
Lahore – Zubair Niazi
On Lahore high court’s orders, the lawyers were submitting nomination papers for Zubair Niazi but the SHO grabbed papers from RO office and ran away with them.
Rahim Yaar Khan - Chaudhry Sajjad Warriach
Policemen ransacked and vandalized his home to pressurize him not to contest.
Misc.
- Salman Akram Raja (himself part of PTI legal team and candidate) accompanied Mrs. Imtiaz who was assaulted a day before to file her husband’s nomination papers.
- A former Chairperson of Women’s Protection Authority Punjab, Fatima Jaddhar was physically assaulted.
- Mudassar Raza Machiyana’s papers were snatched as the accused fled with them.
Despite harassment, abductions, and torture, almost all PTI ticket aspirants were able to file their nomination papers across Pakistan, thanks to the swift action by PTI’s legal teams with the exception of the following candidates:
- Amjad Khan Niazi - NA90
- Saleem Sarwar Jora - PP 31 Gujrat
- Ammar Bashir - PP162 Lahore
- Haider Majeed - PP161 Lahore
- Barrister Hassan Niazi - Lahore
- Nazim Raza - PP 96 Chiniot
Cases of Jora, Ammar, Haider and Hassan are pending in the Lahore High Court while Amjad Niazi was brutally tortured in jail when his lawyer approached for signing documents and despite multiple instructions of the ATC judge, he wasn’t allowed to sign the papers.
A Sorry State of Affairs
It is noteworthy that candidates from no other party encountered obstacles in submitting their nomination papers. In fact, in certain instances, Returning Officers (ROs) were observed providing full protocol to candidates from specific parties, particularly the Muslim League Nawaz and People's Party. No objections were raised against their nomination papers, and the process unfolded seamlessly for them.
The harrasment against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is not just an attack on individual candidates; it is a blatant affront to the democratic principles we hold dear. The perpetrators of this orchestrated campaign against PTI candidates demonstrate a callous disregard for the sanctity of democratic norms, exposing their ruthless agenda to subvert the will of the people.
This also unveils the shortcomings of the ostensibly impartial election commission and caretaker governments, whose primary responsibility is to facilitate free and fair elections. Unfortunately, they have evidently fallen short of fulfilling this crucial mandate.
Compiled by: Umer Azad & Mariya