ISLAMABAD: The poll inquiry commission has indicated that it will conclude the investigation into allegations of `systematic malpractices` in the 2013 general elections during the week commencing on June 8.

At the end of Wednesday`s proceedings, the three-judge commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, asked the counsel for all political parties to remain present next week because it intended to conclude the investigation without granting any adjournment.

June 8 is also the date when judicial officers engaged in the May 11, 2013, elections will submit their reports after the opening of sealed election bags to retrieve the copies of `Form 15` from all polling stations of every constituency of allnational and provincial assemblies.

The bags are kept at the treasuries (in every district) on behalf of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Form 15 reflects the vote count after excluding rejected votes or unused ballot papers.

The commission decided to hold proceedings throughout the week every day at 11.30am from Monday onward.

The commission dropped ECP`s witness Naveed A.

Khawaja, General Manager of the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC), and ordered scrapping of his testimony recorded during the crossexamination by ECP`s counsel Salman Akram Raja and PTPs Abdul Hafeez Pirzada.

The commission took the decision when its attention was drawn to certain anomalies pointed out by Mr Pirzada. It transpired during the hearing that the witness not only accepted that the PSPC had completed the printing of ballot papers for certain constituencies on April 26, 2013, but italso simultaneously received a final revised list of ballot papers to be printed for the constituencies on the same date.

Besides, the document the witness referred to was without any signature and handwritten, reflecting certain calculations mainly focussing on the printing of ballots done during differ-ent shifts.

During the proceedings, Mr Pirzada also mentioned a request earlier made by Dr Khalid Ranjha on behalf of the PML-Q for calling at least six returning officers (ROs) and requested the commission to consider his application to end the controversy.`In the better interest of transparency in future elections, the commission should put its foot down,` the PTI counsel said, though he acknowledged that the summoning of ROs was a little complicated. But he said that normally ROs should issue notices to the contesting candidates before the consolidation ofelection results.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim recalled that usually the notice was put on the notice board before compilation of the results.

Mr Pirzada said ROs sometimes ignored the procedure which was a violation of the election law.