All the king’­s men: Daska by-poll rigging report identifies three officials for dubious roles

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry report of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has identified the involvement of three Punjab officials, all closely associated with Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, in rigging the Daska by-election held in February this year.

The findings reveal that the special secretary Higher Education of Punjab, Naeem Ghaus, visited the Daska constituency on Feb 17, two days before polling, and held a meeting with 45 presiding officers (POs) belonging to the education department in the office of the principal of the Government Degree College for Women Daska.

The 133-page report was prepared by Joint Provincial Election Commissioner of Punjab Saeed Gul after being appointed inquiry officer by the ECP. He held that the higher education special secretary had no authorization or mandate to interact with the officials deputed for election duty. The inquiry revealed that he met more than 45 POs in the presence of the deputy district education officer (colleges) and the principal of the Government Degree College for Women. He was accompanied by Ali Abbas, Deputy Secretary of the chief minister’s office.

Naeem Ghaus, grade 20 officer of the Punjab secretariat service, is a close bureaucratic aide of Buzdar. He belongs to Taunsa Sharif, Dera Ghazi Khan, which is also the home tehsil of the chief minister. He was posted as the special secretary of Higher Education in 2020. Previously, he worked in Buzdar’s office for almost two years as additional secretary.

Deputy secretary Ali Abbas is an officer of the audit and account service of the federal government, presently on deputation in the chief minister’s office for more than three years. The inquiry report said that Ali Abbas was also present in a meeting held at the residence of Assistant Commissioner (AC) Daska Asif Hussain, which the then Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also attended.

The report disclosed that in these meetings, the AC and the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sambrial issued the following instructions: Support the government; allow the voters to cast votes on the photocopies of their national identity cards (NICs); if they receive a call from Madam Farkhanda or Hamid, they will have to follow their directions; if they ask them to stop polling, they will have to obey; and they will not have to worry if there are incidents of firing because their [POs] safety is the first priority [of the administration]; slow down the voting process; it should not increase more than 25% in Daska city area; don’t interfere in the doings of the district administration and police and whatever they want to do, let them do it; close the polling station at 04:30pm with the help of police; cooperate with the district administration; and return to the returning officer’s office as early as possible.

The report said that Ali Abbas, in the meeting with the POs, threatened the election staff and asked special secretary Naeem Ghaus “to teach them to become human beings and cooperate with them otherwise they will be transferred far away”.

Another key senior official is former Deputy Commissioner of Sialkot Zeeshan Javed Lashari, whose subordinates especially Daska AC Asif Hussain and additional deputy commissioner (General) or ADCG Farooq Akmal were found to be actively involved in the poll rigging operation.

Lashari, an officer of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS formerly DMG), was suspended by the Chief Election Commissioner immediately after the rigging surfaced and the disappearance of 20 POs was reported.

A ground check showed that Lashari has since been reinstated and is currently posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Dera Ghazi Khan, the home district of the chief minister. The report held the Sialkot district administration and Punjab police responsible for planned and organized rigging. All the three officials named in the findings, report directly to the chief minister, who is their appointing and controlling authority.

The report held DSP Pasrur Zulfiqar Virk and DSP Ramzan Kamboh as the key players, who implemented the rigging plan. They along with Sialkot district police officer (DPO) Hasan Asad Alvi were also suspended on ECP orders when the electoral body had taken cognizance of the wrongdoings in the Daska by-poll. The Punjab government reinstated them and posted them as the Kasur DSP, Nankana Sahib DSP and Jhang DPO without waiting for the present report.

Deputy Secretary Ali Abbas is presently working in the chief minister’s office as additional secretary. He was given this temporary promotion by Buzdar against the rules while bypassing the Punjab chief secretary’s office, which is authorised to post additional secretaries in the Punjab government.

Ali Abbas’s duty in the chief minister’s office is to monitor the provincial administration in the Gujranwala division and convey Buzdar’s orders relating to the ruling party, federal and Punjab lawmakers to the field formations there.

On the other hand, the ECP has sidelined its two officers -- Joint Punjab Election Commissioner Abid Hussain and Deputy Director of the Punjab Election Commission Atar Abbasi -- for administrative negligence, to set an example for the government to follow and punish its officials named in the inquiry report. They will also face criminal proceedings.