Moot on G-B electoral reforms put off

Opposition boycotts consultation called by NA speaker today

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE:

The meeting of parliamentary leaders called by the National Assembly speaker on Monday (today) at the Parliament House to discuss the electoral reforms in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has been postponed after opposition parties refused to participate in it.

In a statement issued on Sunday, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who is the opposition leader in the lower house of parliament, announced his party’s decision to boycott the meeting.

“The sensitive issue of G-B is linked to the Kashmir cause and the current government should not mess it up for its political gains,” Shehbaz said.

The former Punjab chief minister added that the PTI-led federal government should not interfere in the process of the upcoming elections in G-B.

“In view of the government’s fascist and dictatorial attitude, we have decided not to cooperate with it.”

Shehbaz further said that the National Assembly speaker had no authority to meddle in the electoral affairs of G-B in any case.

“The government has rejected every attempt by the opposition to cooperate with it for the sake of national interest and used it for political antics.”

The PML-N leader pledged to abide by all the decisions made at the opposition’s recent all parties conference.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, the PML-N information secretary, also confirmed that the party’s parliamentary leadership would not attend the meeting.

Similarly, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said that the National Assembly speaker and federal ministers had nothing to do with the polls in G-B.

“We condemn the federal government’s interference in G-B elections,” he added. “The PPP will only contact the G-B election commission in connection with out demand for a fair and free election there.”

Addressing a news conference, PPP leader Nayyar Bukhari and Farhatullah Babar said there should be no delay in holding the G-B elections.

They also demanded that judicial officers should be appointed as returning officers during the polls.

The PPP leaders pointed out that only the leader of the house could call a meeting of parliamentary leaders. They confirmed that none of the parties that attended the APC would participate in the meeting called by the NA speaker.

“G-B has its election commission,” Bukhari noted. “Appointing administrative officers as returning officers is pre-poll rigging,” he added.

The PPP leader further said that the NA speaker was not authorised to call a meeting of parliamentary leaders.

In addition to the PML-N and PPP, the JUI-F has also refused to participate in the meeting.

At their confab on September 20, the opposition parties upped the ante against the PTI-led federal government as they demanded immediate resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, while announcing an alliance –the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – that will begin a countrywide protest against the government.

In the PPP-hosted APC, the opposition also ratcheted up its narrative against alleged rigging in the July 2018 general election and demanded that the powerful establishment should not only refrain itself from interfering in politics but also confine to its role as defined in the Constitution.

Through a 26-point resolution and a seven-point action plan issued after the APC, the opposition put forward its demands, including free, fair, transparent elections without having any role of the armed forces and agencies.