Authorities seal NGO Pattan's office for operating 'illegally'

• Authorities seal Pattan's office in Islamabad's Sector F-15.
• Say no court has canceled dissolution of Pattan to date.
• Pattan recently demanded probe into alleged electoral rigging.

ISLAMABAD: The district administration on Friday sealed the office of Pattan, a civil society organisation, on charges of operating "illegally".

The Pattan Coalition-38 is a network of civil society organisations (CSOs), labour unions, community-based organisations (CBOs), and intellectuals.

In a statement today, the administration said it sealed Pattan's office in Islamabad's Sector F-15, noting that the non-governmental organisation was dissolved in 2019. It added that no court has cancelled the dissolution of the NGO to date.

Earlier this month, the organisation — in its report on the February 8 general elections, titled "War on Voters?” — demanded the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for alleged electoral rigging, The News reported.

The report urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to fulfil its commitment to investigating the allegations made by Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattah, who publicly accused the ECP chief and a former top judge.

Additionally, the report appealed to human rights and women's rights groups, the National Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women, and the UNDP to demand that the ECP and the government immediately allocate all reserved seats for women and minorities without further delay.

The same report was shared by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a dossier to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) termed the Pattan report a continuation of "baseless and fabricated propaganda to defame institutions".

A spokesman of the electoral body said that it would have been appropriate to take viewpoint from the Election Commission before publishing the report.

He emphasised that the Election Commission will not be pressured by such tactics and will continue to perform its duties in accordance with the constitution and law. He claimed that this report shows that Pattan and its officials are part of an organised conspiracy to defame the country’s institutions.

He contended that it is very important to clarify here that the Election Commission has displayed the Forms 46, 45 and 47 received from the Returning Officers on its website without any changes, which are still available today, and in this regard, the affected parties have filed their petitions in the Election Tribunals as per the law, the hearing of which is underway and some tribunals have also given decisions on the petitions after hearing the positions of the parties.