Horse-trading allegations: ECP issues notices to Imran, Sattar and others

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday issued notices to eight parliamentarians, including PTI Chairman Imran Khan and MQM-P's PIB faction Chief Dr Farooq Sattar, asking them to appear before it in alleged horse-trading case fixed for March 14. "You are required to appear before the Election Commission in person or through counsel .... failing which the matter will be decided in your absence," the ECP said in its notification.
The ECP has issued notices to Advisor to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Amir Muqam, State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, PML-N MNA Shahabuddin Khan, PML-N leader Uzma Zahid Bukhari, PSP's Raza Haroon and Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan.
The Commission has taken notice of alleged horse-trading in Senate elections and sought relevant proof of it from parliamentarians and heads of political parties. The Election Commission said that it took notice on basis of the reports and statements of different politicians and party leaders published in different newspapers and broadcast on television channels.
The Commission has asked those who complained about horse-trading in the media to present evidence on March 14. The Election Commission wants to initiate an inquiry against the legislators who traded their votes for money in Senate elections that were held on March 3 in National Assembly and all four provincial assemblies, it said.
The elections were held to fill 52 seats of Senate that are set to stand vacant on March 11. A senator is elected for a six-year term while elections are held after every three years to elect half of the Senate. All newly-elected senators will take oath on March 12 while chairman and deputy chairman Senate will be elected on the same day. Earlier on Monday, both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan alleged horse-trading in the Senate elections and demanded investigations into allegations.
About dual nationality of senators-elect, the Election Commission clarified that it had provided a list of dual nationals to relevant returning officers after receiving it from Ministry of Interior. The candidates declared in their nomination forms that they had surrendered their dual nationalities and they had also provided affidavits to reaffirm their position.
The Commission said the returning officers cleared the candidates after complete scrutiny of their papers and nobody had challenged their credentials in the appellate tribunal. The Supreme Court on Monday last stopped the ECP from issuing victory notification to four newly-elected senators who are allegedly holding dual nationalities. They were Haroon Akhtar, Nuzhat Sadiq, Chaudhry Sarwar and Sadia Abbasi.