‘Handpicked’: Reserved seats, nomination challenged

Petitioner wants women to be elected to half of all assemblies’ seats.


Our Correspondent June 27, 2013
The petitioner has said that since women comprised a little over than 50 per cent of the population, they deserved to hold half of the seats in the assemblies, according to the Islamic injunctions. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE:


A man has challenged nomination of women on reserved seats in the parliament in the Lahore High Court.


Instead, he wants the court to direct the government to allocate 50 per cent of the total seats in all houses for women and to fill them through voting by women.

Justice Aminudin Khan of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the federal government on the said petition.

Earlier the petitioner’s counsel Advocate Javed Iqbal Jafri was told to resubmit it after removing objectionable remarks against MPA Uzma Zahid Bukhari – who is one of the respondents. Advocate Jafri, however, deleted the remarks on the spot.

Other respondents include Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the law secretary and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The petitioner has said that since women comprised a little over than 50 per cent of the population, they deserved to hold half of the seats in the assemblies, according to the Islamic injunctions.

He said the “handpicked women” sitting in assemblies on reserved seats were a violation of the Constitution. Political leaders nominate their relatives or those they are close to on such seats, said the petitioner.

Nomination, he said, discourages deserving and hardworking women.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2013.

COMMENTS (1)

Emjay | 10 years ago | Reply

There shouldn't be reserved seats anyway. If you want to reserve seats for women or minorities, there should still be some sort of election where people vote for all women contestants for women's seats, all minorities contestants for minorities' seats, and so on. The way things are currently, it is just a nepotism breeding ground.

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