Vawda takes ECP Sindh member to SJC over ‘misconduct’

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Faisal Vawda on Wednesday filed a reference before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Member Sindh Nisar Ahmed Durrani and sought his removal from the post over ‘misconduct’.

Vawda, a former Senator and MNA who served as the former federal minister for water resources, has approached SJC against Durrani on grounds that the member has simultaneously been holding two offices of profits – being member ECP and principal of Sindh Law College – in absolute violation of article 216 of the Constitution.

Vawda, who was disqualified by ECP in a dual nationality case earlier this year, said that his case was similar to that of PML-N’s Khawaja Asif and Sadia Abbasi, PPP’s Rehman Malik and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah but the outcome was exactly the opposite. “Cases are same but the results are different,” he said.

While referring to SC judgments, Vawda said that the apex court has ruled in several judgments that “ECP is not a court of law and can’t disqualify”, saying the ECP yet disqualified him and violated top court’s judgments. He accused ECP member Sindh of allegedly showing biased conduct against him, saying “he was compensating back to PPP for having the position of Sindh Law College’s principal.”

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In the petition, Vawda stated that Durrani was appointed as member ECP from the province of Sindh on January 24, 2020, and he is serving till date without resigning from the post of principal. He added that Durrani’s tenure has further been extended for three years from December 31, 2021 onwards till December 31, 2023.

“The respondent’s integrity, impartiality and honesty has been...compromised. In the circumstances, it would be absolutely fair to restrain the respondent from performing his duties as the member [of] ECP, to save the nation from the respondent who...instead of performing his duty...is hell-bent to defeat the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

Accusing Durrani of not being honest, the petitioner has requested SJC to initiate proceedings under article 209 of the Constitution against him for misconduct, violating the code of conduct and article 5 and 216 of the constitution and prayed to remove him from the post of member ECP. When approached ECP officials, they said that “no comments till the subject document is seen”.