ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended a presidential notification of the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and directed that the matter be resolved by the parliament.IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah told the Additional Attorney General (AAG), Tariq Mehmood Khokhar, that the matter should be resolved quickly as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan was retiring on December 7.The high court is hearing a petition filed by Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon against the controversial and unilateral appointment of ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan by President Dr Arif Alvi.According to the petitioner, the criteria for the appointment of CEC and ECP members has been laid down in the Constitution and the notification issued for the appointment of the members on August 22 was in violation of Articles 213 and 218.In an earlier hearing of the case, Justice Minallah had said the matter must be resolved by the parliament, adding the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman should resolve the issue through consultations.Following Justice Minallah’s directions National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had met the government’s legal team and constitutional experts and had decided that opposition parties would be engaged to resolve the issue.During Monday’s hearing, the IHC chief justice inquired about the progress of the consultation meetings. The AAG informed him that so far three meetings had been held between Qaiser and Sanjrani but no progress could be made due to deteriorating [law and order] situation. He was referring to the ongoing anti-government Azadi March and sit-in being led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and supported by opposition parties.“How much more time does the National Assembly speaker and Senate chairman require,” the IHC top judge asked regretting that the ECP was almost non-functional. The court remarked that the matter should be resolved in the parliament, adding the elected representatives in the parliament should make such decisions themselves.Justice Minallah said the retirement of the CEC was also due on December 7, and directed the AAG that the court should be informed about the progress on the matter by December 5, and adjourned the hearing till the said date.—Sabah
11-05-2019, 11:19 AM
IHC suspends notification of ECP members? appointment
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