Ex-Pakistani bureaucrat retracts poll rigging allegations, claims PTI promised him 'lucrative positions'

In a surprising turn of events, former Pakistani bureaucrat Liaquat Ali Chattha who leveled accusations that the country's general elections were rigged retracted all his claims saying that he made the statements after "lucrative" promises made by former PM Imran Khan's PTI party.

This comes days after the former Rawalpindi commissioner claimed that 13 candidates were declared election winners forcefully. While going back on his claims, Chattha said that he was "extremely ashamed and embarrassed."

Notably, Chattha, who previously served as the Rawalpindi commissioner, had resigned from his post and took responsibility for the alleged manipulation of election results. Not only this, raising many eyebrows, the former civil servant also levelled accusations against Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa about the alleged poll rigging.

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However, now, in a letter addressed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday (February 22), Chattha retracted his statements and revealed that his accusations were made after Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party promised him lucrative positions in exchange for supporting their narrative of election rigging and maligning state institutions.

According to Chattha, a PTI leader had approached him after the February 8 elections, offering him favourable positions. He confessed to being swayed by the offer, especially considering his impending retirement after 32 years of civil service.

The former bureaucrat admitted that the proposal initially involved submitting a written resignation containing the fabricated narrative, but it was later decided to stage a press conference to amplify the false claims. The aim, as Chattha revealed, was to create sensationalism and drama.

"It was in this meeting, that he made an offer to me that if I play a role in supporting the PTI's ongoing narrative of rigging in elections and maligning state institutions, he would ensure a lucrative position for me in future," Chattha said.

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"This proposal was made by the said individual in consideration of the fact that I was about to retire from service. He was also aware of the fact that I was under pressure due to this forthcoming retirement. After having remained a part of the services for 32 years, it is naturally hard for any civil servant to let go of all perks, privileges, and authorities," he added.

Indicating that the plan was also approved by PTI's topleadership, he said, "Initially, it was proposed by me that I would write the entire narrative and submit the same as part of my resignation. However, this proposal was dropped by the said prominent PTI leader as such written resignation would not create any sensations for their narrative building."

He mentioned that the PTI leadership instructed him to name Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja to further their agenda of creating mistrust in the electoral process.

Reacting to Chattha's retraction, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) accused the PTI of attempting to manipulate the elections and tarnishing Pakistan's image.

"In the end, I feel extremely ashamed and embarrassed for making totally false, concocted, anti-state, and malicious statement in the press conference. This activity caused embarrassment for me as well as for the entire bureaucratic fraternity," Chattha added.

(With inputs from agencies)