2018 elections were not rigged but ‘managed’: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Former Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that 2018 elections, wherein Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged victorious, were not rigged but managed, ARY News reported on Sunday.

In an interview, the former federal minister also castigated Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Raja Sultan and alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ‘installed’ the latter through former director-general (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hamid.

Fawad Chaudhry also claimed that former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa sought an extension from PTI and wanted to get another extension from PML-N. He said 2018 elections were not rigged but ‘managed’.

The former minister claimed that when Nawaz Sharif was allowed to travel abroad in 2019, he realised that “work” had started on the other side.

He emphasised that the solution to all problems lies in a “Grand Dialogue” and that PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are realities that need to be engaged with.

Earlier on July 3, Fawad Chaudhry expressed surprise at PTI’s willingness to engage in talks with establishment, saying that this decision was tantamount to ‘deal-seeking’.

Speaking to an international media outlet, the former minister said that negotiating with the establishment is equivalent to seeking a deal, and that talks will only be successful if held on an equal footing.

Chaudhry suggested that the PTI should only be talking to opposition parties at this stage, and that negotiations with the government should come later.

He also criticised PTI’s approach to negotiations, saying that seeking a deal with the establishment would be no different from what Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would do.