ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Azam Swati has submitted his written apology to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday for his statements against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the electoral watchdog.
However, the minister did not attend the hearing in person. Swati’s chief counsel, Barrister Ali Zafar, appeared in today’s hearing conducted by a two-member bench headed by Nisar Ahmed Durrani.
Zafar said that if a mistake had been committed against any constitutional institution then an apology should be made. “Where is Azam Swati himself?” asked Durrani to which Zafar responded that the minister had to suddenly leave for Quetta.
The ECP member said that Swati had requested exemption at the previous hearing as well. “Is Azam Swati fleeing from the case?” Durrani remarked.
Zafar read out Swati’s written apology to the ECP in the hearing. “I have always tried to make the Election Commission strong. I apologise if I caused any grievance,” the apology said.
Durrani said that the ECP was doing its work with integrity and all institutions should respect one another. He granted an exemption to Swati for today’s hearing. While neither accepting nor rejecting the apology, the ECP directed Swati to appear in-person before it on December 22.
The ECP also reserved its verdict on Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s written apology, with Durrani saying that an appropriate order would be passed on it.
Swati, along with Information Minister, had launched a tirade against the ECP on September 10. During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs held to discuss proposed amendments in the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2021, Swati had accused the commission of “always” rigging polls and said that such institutions should be “set on fire”.
The minister had come down hard on the ECP and alleged that the ECP took bribes to rig polls. He said the commission was making fun of the government, and that it was not entitled to “ruin” democracy in the country. His comments had prompted ECP officials present in the meeting to walk out.
The electoral watchdog had issued notices to the two ministers on September 16, asking them to provide evidence within a week about the allegations of wrongdoing they had hurled at both the ECP and the chief election commissioner.
