ISLAMABAD: Former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha allegedly backedtracked on his charges on Thursday, days after releasing a bombshell confession that he helped the losers win in Rawalpindi Division by manipulating the elections.
A copy of the letter Mr. Chattha wrote to the secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) revealed that the news conference last week was organized at the request of a high-ranking PTI official who has also been declared an offender.
The official, though, has not been seen since making accusations of election manipulation during his press conference last week. In addition, it’s unclear how and where the letter sent to the ECP was drafted, and it’s also unclear where Mr. Chattha is right now.
In his letter, Mr. Chattha expressed regret and humiliation and asked for an apology from the country. The former commissioner claimed that “the PTI leadership” had sanctioned the entire scheme to defame public institutions.
“The primary aim of this planned press conference was to generate sensations and drama, augmenting erroneous stories being built by PTI,” the officer stated in his three-page letter.
“I accept complete accountability for my deeds and turn myself in to law enforcement for any potential legal action,” he declared.
“During my news conference on February 17, 2024, the name of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) was taken with the intention of inciting mistrust against him among the general public.” Throughout the whole electoral process, the CJP had no involvement. But I was expressly asked to select the CJP by that well-known PTI leader,” he stated.
The letter pointed out that there were several reasons for designating the CJP. He was informed that it would contribute to the momentum of this entire story, since PTI had been planting seeds of skepticism and doubt about the CJP in the public consciousness.
In a similar vein, he said that the chief election commissioner (CEC) was chosen with the intention of casting doubt on Pakistan’s whole electoral system.
Additionally, it was decided that there would be coordination between the press conference and other events. PTI was supposed to call for nationwide demonstrations against the electoral process, but that was prearranged. On the day when PTI had called for protests, the news conference was scheduled to take place. The letter said, “I conducted the news conference on February 17 in accordance with this arrangement, following PTI’s demand for nationwide protests.
“I have spent the previous 32 years working in Punjab’s civil service, most recently as a Commissioner in Rawalpindi. Following the 2018 general elections, which saw the PTI form the Punjabi government,
He recalled, “I stayed posted against senior provincial posts, particularly my posting as Punjab government’s provincial secretary.”
He claimed to have had the chance to network with senior and well-known PTI figures while serving as provincial secretary. He zealously pursued what was logically in his “interest to develop personal relations with these prominent individuals.” He became friendly on a personal level with one of the well-known PTI leaders during this period.
Like other PTI leaders, he recounted how, following the events of May 9, 2023, the aforementioned well-known PTI leader fled the courts, was labeled a proclaimed offender, and went into hiding.
Mr. Chattha claims that on February 11, 2024, following the elections, the aforementioned PTI leader met with him in secret in Lahore. He stated that during this encounter, the PTI leader offered him a “lucrative position” in the future provided he helped forward the party’s continuous narrative of undermining state institutions and rigging general elections.
“He told me that the senior leadership of PTI had been consulted and approved before any of this strategy was developed. The aforementioned person made this suggestion in light of the fact that I was going to retire from the military.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
