Govt asks IHC to put off hearing of ECP members case

Says apex court is yet to decide a petition filed over the matter

ISLAMABD: The federal government has asked the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to postpone the hearing of petitions filed against the appointment of two Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members until the apex court decides a plea filed in connection with the matter.

The government, along with its one-page response, has attached the petition filed with the Supreme Court.

Islamabad-based lawyer Jahangir Khan Jadoon on August 27 challenged the appointment of the ECP Sindh and Balochistan members in the IHC and requested it to stop implementation of notification issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry.

Two lawmakers, Mohammad Javed Abbasi and Dr Nisar Cheema who are members of the parliamentary committee that recommends the names of ECP members, have also challenged their appointment in the IHC.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah is scheduled to hear the case on Monday (today).

During the last hearing, the court had directed all parties to submit their written replies.

Submitting its response to the court, the ECP said the chief election commissioner had refused to administer oath to Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui and Munir Ahmed Kakar as members from Sindh and Balochistan because the President of Pakistan had appointed them without adopting the procedure laid down in clauses 2A and 2B of Article 213 of the Constitution.

“Under Clause 2A, the prime minister shall in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly forward three names for appointment to a parliamentary committee for hearing and confirmation. The Clause 2B explains the composition of parliamentary committee. The president not only violated these clauses but also bypassed the parliamentary committee while making these appointments.”

In August, the parliamentary affairs ministry had notified the appointment of Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui and Munir Ahmed Kakar as ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan respectively after President Arif Alvi’s approval.

The appointments came seven months after Abdul Ghaffar Soomro and Justice (retd) Shakeel Baloch — the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan — retired in January this year.

However, Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza Khan had refused to take oath from the two new members nominated by the government.

The commissioner in his letter to parliamentary affairs ministry had written that the new members were not appointed in accordance with Articles 213 and 214 of the constitution.

The government had defended its decision of unilaterally nominating the two ECP members, saying President Dr Arif Alvi made the appointments in line with the constitution and on the recommendations of the institutions concerned.