User:Arunreginald/Sandbox2

The 2013–14 Pakistan election protests were a series of protests against alleged instances of rigging in the 2013 general elections. The elections saw the first democratic transfer of power in Pakistan's history as Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief Nawaz Sharif came into power as the nation's next prime minister. Various opposition politicians from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League (Q; PML-Q), Awami Muslim League (AML) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) came to the streets to protest against the illegitimacy of the newly formed Sharif government.

Chronology of events
Immediately after the 2013 general elections, leaders of all political parties alleged instances of rigging in various constituencies throughout Pakistan. Foremost amongst them was former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Khan reluctantly accepted the election results, albeit being consistently ridiculed by the PML-N government and ministers when he spoke up against alleged instances of electoral fraud.

Tribunals investigate electoral fraud
In addressing allegations of electoral fraud, the Supreme Court set up 14 tribunals to investigate rigging in the election. These tribunals represented five cases in Punjab and three for each of the other provinces. The tribunals were headed by 14 retired judges selected by ECP.

Punjab assembly protests
On 24 August 2013, PTI lawmakers protested outside Punjab's provincial assembly where the police cracked down upon the protesters with batons. PTI Punjab's president Aijaz Chaudhry said, “The ruling party has exposed its real face; it cannot even bear peaceful protests.” The legislators were protesting alleged rigging of a provincial assembly seat in the by-elections held in a Lahore constituency. The police arrested several PTI leaders including Aijaz Chaudhry, opposition leader Mehmood-ur-Rasheed and Andleeb Abbas. Several other workers were arrested including female workers of the political party. Punjab chief minister took notice and ordered for the release of arrested workers as a "goodwill gesture".

Magnetic ink and vote-count discrepancies
After consultation with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) proclaimed on 10 October 2013 that it was impossible to verify a large number of votes because some constituencies failed to use the specified magnetic ink that could otherwise facilitate biometric verification. In the NA-256 constituency, around 57,000 ballot papers could not be verified. The trend was prevalent in NA-258 and several other constituencies. The results came forth through decisions of election tribunals asked to investigate instance of electoral fraud.

“35 punctures” scandal
On 6 February 2014, Imran Khan alleged that former caretaker chief minister of Punjab and journalist Najam Sethi called the current prime minister Nawaz Sharif on election night, assuring him of “35 punctures”. PTI alleged that the term “35 punctures” referred to poll fixtures in 35 constituencies. The taped phone conversation was apparently in possession of a western diplomat who consulted Khan about Sethi's remarks, in particular the usage of the term “punctures”. In his defence, Najam Sethi denied all accusations, saying he will take his accusers to court.

Khan also alleged that Sethi was rewarded by the Sharif government in the form of his appointment as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Khan also questioned whether an editor of the liberal newspaper Friday Times had "enough cricketing knowledge for the post".

Azadi and Inqilab protest marches
Frustrated by the government's lack of initiative in addressing and resolving the allegations of electoral fraud in the May 11 elections, PTI chairman Imran Khan officially started his protest campaign. As part of his campaign, he organised four jalsas (lit. protest rallies) in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Bahawalpur.

On 27 June 2014, Khan addressed his protest rally in Bahawalpur and announced plans for a protest march of a “million” protesters from Lahore to Islamabad. The march was initially named “Tsunami march” but later changed the name to “Azadi march” (or the “Freedom march”) since its slated start date coincided with Pakistan's 67th independence day on 14 August 2014. As soon as Khan announced his protest march, Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri also announced a parallel march called “Inqilab march”.

Khan gave the government a month to address his demand to investigate electoral fraud in the four constituencies he identified earlier. He added that if a resolution is reached on the issue, he would call off his march. Instead of addressing Khan's demands however, the government ministers only ridiculed Khan further.

Afzal Khan's revelations
Under the backdrop of Khan and Qadri's protest marches, former additional secretary ECP, Muhammad Afzal Khan, alleged that the 2013 general elections were rigged and the "peoples' mandate was stolen". Afzal Khan talked about electoral fraud and the "[involvement of judges] in fixing the vote" in an interview with Mubashir Luqman on his show Khara Sach on ARY News.

He said that the prime minister Sharif "did not win the elections in a free and fair manner" and chief election commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim "had shut his eyes on [issues of] rigging". He also said that "judges were involved in fixing the vote" and they deliberately delayed the hearing of voter fraud cases. Amongst the judges who facilitated rigging, he also named former chief justices Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani.

Afzal Khan specifically named former ECP member Riaz Kayani as being "responsible for 90 per cent of [electoral fraud]". In response, Kayani rebutted the allegations in a press conference and added that Afzal Khan levelled false allegations because he wasn't given service extension. Kayani vowed to sue Afzal Khan for the "false allegations" he put forth. He even added that the allegations levelled against him were a part of a larger conspiracy and were "pre-planned and fixed". Even though Kayani didn't agree with all of Afzal Khan's allegations, he did admit to the accusation that he was receiving a salary and a pension at the same time, saying that it was “perfectly legal”.