ECP summons caretaker ministers on 26th

Declares a petition seeking removal of Fawad Hassan Fawad, Ahad Cheema, and Tauqeer Shah as maintainable

ISLAMABAD:

The country's election oversight authority has admitted a petition seeking the removal of certain members of the caretaker federal cabinet on grounds of alleged partiality.

It has summoned these ministers—Fawad Hassan Fawad, Ahad Cheema, and Tauqeer Shah—to a hearing scheduled for October 26. The request was filed by Syed Aziz Uddin Kakakhel.

The petitioner contended that the role of a caretaker government is to conduct elections in a fair, transparent, and impartial manner. He argued that the mentioned ministers were not qualified to hold their positions due to their affiliations with leaders of a particular political party.

Read More: ECP orders removal of govt officials

On October 10, a five-member bench led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Sikandar Sultan and comprising the ECP's four provincial members heard the petition and later reserved its verdict.

On Monday, the ECP released its decision, declaring the petition maintainable.

On October 10, the ECP also heard a petition seeking the removal of former prime minister Imran Khan as the chairman of the PTI party.

Read More: ECP locked horns with PTI throughout year

In November of last year, the ECP disqualified the PTI chief as a lawmaker for one term due to his failure to disclose gifts acquired from the official gift repository during his term as prime minister in his statement of assets and liabilities.

When a trial court convicted Imran Khan in the same case on August 5, the ECP issued a notification stating that the former premier was disqualified for five years. Another application listed for hearing sought action against the PTI, citing ongoing funding from foreign entities.