CEC never entertained Imran’s request for secret meeting

ISLAMABAD: Although US President Joe Biden and Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja are poles apart, there is one thing common between the two.

Biden didn’t call Imran Khan despite the best efforts made by former PM's national security adviser Moeed Yousuf. Raja didn't entertain Khan's request for a secret meeting despite the best efforts he had made to persuade the CEC through intermediaries.

Informed officials suggest that Khan had sent several messengers to Raja with a request to hold a secret meeting. Included among them was a constitutional office-holder who had specially traveled from Islamabad to meet Raja. He was then in Lahore on the weekend. In the meeting held on January 1, 2022, the messenger conveyed the then-PM's message for a secret meeting which Raja refused.

A source aware of this meeting said Raja was candid that he was open to meet any politician in his office including the PM. But, he added, he would neither meet secretly nor at the PM’s Office. While earlier messengers had only wanted to set up a secret meeting, the constitutional office-holder was also having something to offer that Raja could be appointed at any other prized position in case he resigned from the CEC office.

This was the last contact made for setting-up the meeting. Before him, another four powerful officials had approached Raja to convey this message. As his efforts in this respect had failed, Khan in his latest outburst had blamed Raja for holding a 'secret meeting' in Lahore with Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and PMLN's vice-president Maryam Nawaz.

A source close to the CEC rubbished these allegations. The CEC was on the Khan's radar since the former had opposed in the Supreme Court the holding of Senate polls through open ballot as doing this would have been in violation of the Constitution. This was contrary to the demand of the former PM which had been dismissed by the SC in light of the Election Commission of Pakistan's opinion.

Upset at this, Khan's principal secretary had also spoken to the ECP secretary to convey displeasure in vain, an official privy to the conversation told The News. The gulf widened with the passage of time when the ECP had taken independent positions in several cases right from the local government elections to the legislation on electronic voting and the ongoing foreign funding case. The last in this regard was the crisis-like situation that had emerged after former deputy speaker Qasim Suri refused to hold a vote of no-confidence against Khan.

As the SC had taken suo motu, the proposal for holding fresh election was also under consideration of the court. As the ECP opinion was also sought, it had vetoed the proposal of early elections on the grounds that they couldn't be held in the absence of fresh delimitation which had been delayed almost for two years by the PTI government. This was the time when even the powerful quarters were pressing on the ECP against opposing the proposal of early election.

The ECP, however, told the court that it had written many letters to the federal government reminding it of the constitutional obligation of fresh delimitation and it was not done meaning thereby the PTI government was responsible for this delay. Consequently, the apex court didn't rule in favour of the fresh elections.

When the ECP decided to deseat the PTI MPAs who had voted for Hamza Shehbaz, there was no applause for this decision notwithstanding the fact it put the Hamza government in an awkward position.

However, a demand was conveyed to the ECP that it should put on notice of PTI MNAs who refused to resign from the National Assembly in line with the leadership's decision. It was refused.

Now, the PTI is blaming everything on the CEC. As the campaign for bye-elections gains momentum and a decision on foreign funding case has been reserved, Imran Khan has bracketed Raja with the opposition to make him controversial. Other leaders of the PTI are following the suit. Included among them is Fawad Chaudhry who earlier had apologised to the CEC after he was issued a show-cause notice.

In October 2021, Chaudhry, then information minister, and Azam Swati, then railway minister, had accused the CEC of taking a bribe and acting as a mouthpiece of the then-opposition parties.

A source privy to the information told The News that both of them had privately approached Raja for seeking forgiveness. However, before they did that, Raja had made up his mind to grant them another chance as they had submitted a written apology during the course of proceeding.

The News sent questions to Shehbaz Gill, Imran Khan's chief of staff, Fawad Chaudhry and Azam Swati. The former two didn't respond. Swati, while reacting to the part of story about him outrightly denied having any knowledge of a notice ever issued to him by the ECP, let alone involving someone to privately approach the CEC. His claim was in contrast to the wide publicity his written apology (together with Fawad Chaudhry) received in the media. When The News shared with him a link of the story of December 2021 reporting about submitting the apology for acrimonious remarks against the CEC, he didn't reply.