RAWALPINDI: Syed Khurram Ali, the regional police officer of the city, took a 15-day vacation on Sunday, one day after Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha admitted to his involvement in the manipulation of the most recent Pakistani elections.
Ali said that he was heading to the United Kingdom for a 15-day tour with his family.
Commissioner Rawalpindi and RPO Rawalpindi were invited to a news conference on Saturday about the Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricket competition by the Punjab Information Department. The senior officer had requested leave prior to the elections, but his request was denied, according to Ali’s office, which subsequently confirmed that leave had been approved after the polls.
The RPO arrived at the office on Friday and left for Lahore that evening. CPO Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani has assumed increased responsibility for his duties.
Authorities stated that it is unknown if Ali is still in Lahore or has moved to the UK. They also stated that he will be returning to work on March 2 after a 15-day break.
Express tried contacting RPO Rawalpindi Ali, but received no response.
One day prior, Rawalpindi Commissioner Chatha made a shocking admission about his involvement in election manipulation, just one week after polls clouded by accusations of tampering produced an inconclusive result.
Accepting accountability for what he called a “heinous crime,” Chatha brought the nation’s top judge and the chairman of the election commission under scrutiny in addition to himself.
The “confessions” coincided with the ECP being the target of multiple accusations of vote-rigging following a turbulent week. The results are still being clouded by widespread manipulation, raising more doubts about the validity of the votes.
In a startling statement, Chatha declared he would give himself in to the police and own up to his role in manipulating the results of the election by making winners out of losers.
“We converted the losers into winners, reversing margins of 70,000 votes in 13 national assembly seats,” he stated to reporters.
He also named Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja in his statement, saying, “I will hand myself over to the police for committing such a heinous crime.”
He left a handwritten letter announcing his decision to step down from his “post and service,” alleging his “deep involvement in serious crimes like mega election rigging 2024”.
The province chief secretary, Mohsin Naqvi, the acting chief minister of Punjab, and governor Haji Ghulam Ali were the recipients of the letter.
In response to a query regarding possible “irregularities” in the election process and whether or not local returning officers had delayed the transmission of results, Chatha said, “‘Irregularities’ is a minor word for it.”
“I should face punishment for the injustice I have committed, and others involved in this injustice should also be held accountable,” he stated.
At a news conference held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Chatha revealed that he was under a great deal of “pressure,” to the point where he considered suicide in the morning before deciding to address the issue in public.
“It is my appeal to the entire bureaucracy not to engage in any wrongful actions for these political figures,” he said.
