ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan Wednesday accepted the pardon of Railways Minister Azam Swati and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

The ECP on Wednesday heard a case against both the federal ministers who accused the commission and chief election commissioner of accepting bribe and taking side of the opposition parties. The commission took serious notice of the allegations and asked the ministers to prove their accusations. But the duo failed to prove their allegations and tendered their apologies.

In today’s hearing, Railways Minister Swati appeared before the commission. During the ECP hearing of Dec 3, Swati and Fawad submitted their written apologies. However, Swati skipped the hearing and failed to appear before the commission. However, his lawyer submitted an apology on his behalf.

The ECP Sindh member, Nisar Durrani, had objected to it, saying all institutions should respect each other and summoned Swati on December 22 in person. The commission had reserved its verdict on Fawad Chaudhry’s written apology as well.

Later, while talking to media, Swati said that government wanted to make the Election Commission of Pakistan as an independent institution. He heralded that the ECP was going to make good decisions regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).