Director General Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab Brigadier (retd) Muzaffar Ali Ranjha rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran’s allegations that army helped Nawaz Sharif in the 2013 general elections.
In an interview with newsman, Khan had said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had the help of the army in the 2013 elections.
Imran alleged that Brigadier Ranjha had helped Nawaz in Punjab during the last general elections. The PTI chairman emphasised that he had given a lot of thought to the matter before levelling the allegation.
“The allegations made by a party head after an investigation has been carried out over alleged rigging in last elections are baseless,” he remarked in an interview.
Ranjha stressed that a judicial commission should be made formed over the allegations levelled by Imran Khan.
“Imran should sign his statement and I will do the same. There should be strict punishment for the person proven wrong,” he remarked.
“Army played no part in 2013 elections. The army was busy fighting war against terrorism,” he said.
Former army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had strictly prohibited officials from interfering into politics, Ranjha said.
He also shared that Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif had appointed him as DG anti-corruption department after seeing his work as MI Punjab sector commander.
“He told me that the way I have worked, I will even improve the anti-corruption establishment, remarked Ranjha. “Shehbaz Sharif is the champion of national unity in Pakistan.”
‘Punjab returning officers were pressurised in 2013’
While speaking on media, Imran had further claimed that Returning Officers in Punjab were pressured during 2013’s General Elections.
“The 2013 polls are called RO elections because the Pakistan army stopped candidates from going into the polling stations.”
Imran said that he had not alleged that the army chief was involved in the rigging of polls but maintained that the Pakistan army had played its part nonetheless.
When asked about Nawaz’s statement: “Jalsa Lahore da, Majma Pishor da te agenda kisay hor da,” meaning Imran’s rally was staged in Lahore but the crowd was brought from Peshawar on someone else’s agenda, the PTI chairman said it was Nawaz who was the ‘ladla’ (favoured) of the judiciary and army in the past.
“Nawaz is unsettled now because both the army and judiciary are neutral,” he said, adding that the incumbent army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, among his peers, was the most neutral and pro-democratic leaders of the armed forces.
“Nawaz has a simple ideology, with me or against me, and since [Gen Bajwa] is not with him, he is against him.”
“These brothers have a brilliant partnership; they know how to play the good and bad cop game very well,” said Imran. “While one brother speaks against [institutions], the other begs forgiveness later.”
