Pakistan

Poll chief’s appointment: Delay in filling top post fuelling doubts, says SCBA chief

Says CJ should resume hearing of the matter and pass appropriate orders.

Hasnaat Malik May 11, 2014 1 min read

At present, it is the SC senior most judge Justice Nasirul Mulk, who looks after the affairs of the ECP. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

ISLAMABAD:

The head of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Kamran Murtaza on Saturday said the Supreme Court’s delay in taking up the matter of the appointment of a permanent chief election commissioner (CEC) was raising doubts in the people’s minds.

“To dispel these doubts, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani should resume the hearing of the matter forthwith and pass appropriate direction to the executive to fill the constitutional post, which is vacant for last one year,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune.

The post of the CEC has been lying vacant since July 31, 2013, when Fakhruddin G Ebrahim tendered his resignation. Later on, the incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani held the position as acting CEC till the retirement of then CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

At present, it is the SC senior most judge Justice Nasirul Mulk, who looks after the affairs of the ECP.

In view of the sensitivity of matter, the two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on February 20, 2014 took notice of the delay in the appointment of the CEC and head of the Federal Service Tribunal (FST).

During the hearing, Justice Saqib Nisar observed that the appointment of one of SC judges as acting CEC was inappropriate as the primary duty of a judge is to hear a case, not to do administrative work.

The top court had also sought a comprehensive report on the steps the government has taken so far to fill out these key posts.

After the passage of one month, the case was again fixed before another three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany but the government did not comply with the court’s directives about the appointment of the CEC and other posts.

The same bench had referred the matter to the CJP for the fixing the hearing on March 24 but matter is not being taken up.

A senior official in Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also admitted that the ECP was facing difficulties due to the absence of a permanent CEC.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2014.