Ice melting on ECP appointments, says senator

Opposition protests arrest of Ahsan Iqbal, call-up notices to Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: A bipartisan parliamentary committee on the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the chief election commissioner (CEC) on Tuesday failed to break the deadlock, as both the government and the opposition stuck to their stated positions.

Committee member and PML-N Senator, Mushahidullah Khan, said the government insisted on the name of Babar Yaqoob as the CEC but the opposition “refused flatly” to his nomination because elections were “rigged” during Yaqoob’s tenure as the ECP secretary.

The committee was scheduled to meet on Tuesday but the meeting could not take place because of the deadlock. However, both sides met in the chamber of the National Assembly speaker for informal consultations and it was decided that the committee would convene next week.

“We have talked to the government. We have some issues and they also have some issues,” Khan told the media. “It seems there are signs that the ice is melting, the committee will now meet on December 30,” the PML-N senator added.

During the consultations, the opposition complained against the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) procedures and staged a token walk out against the arrest of PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal and the issuance of call-up notice to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Khan objected to the manner in which Iqbal was arrested on Monday. He said Iqbal was not accused of corruption of even a single rupee. “We are not afraid [of any investigation]. Anyone who wanted investigation against us, can conduct it.”

He said attempts to stop Bilawal from holding a rally on his mother’s anniversary reflected “fascist thinking” of the rulers. “Even Fascism has boundaries, but the rulers have crossed all the limits,” he added.
“Bilawal Bhutto should be allowed to hold public meeting on the death anniversary of his mother, who was a great leader and Ahsan Iqbal should be released immediately because there is no evidence against him,” he said.

“Capture as many people as you want, the rulers cannot stop our mission,” he said, adding: “The days of the present government are numbered.”

Former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the present undemocratic government had adopted “a fascist kind of attitude” towards the opposition. “The court has given us permission to hold a rally. We are a democratic party and we believe in democracy,” he added.

JUI-F leader Shahida Akhtar Ali said that there was hardly any accountability of the rulers, while victimisation of the opposition was going on. “The attitude of the government must change now,” Ali added.