ISLAMABAD: PM has recommended the names of Fazal Abbas, Babar Yaqoob and Arif Khan for the post of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
It is pertinent to mention here that PM had suggested the names on the very day when CEC Justice (R) Sardar Mohammad Raza’s tenure ended. Leader of the opposition in NA Shehbaz Sharif had earlier recommended the names of Nasir Mahmood Khosa, Jalil Abbas Jilani and Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar for the post.
Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari chairing a government are in agreement that the panel propose the names of the CEC and members together. Mazari said a meeting will now be called next week to reach an agreement on names for the three posts.
Relevant pieces published earlier:
PML-N to move SC over delay in appointment of ECP members
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to approach Supreme Court (SC) today over delay in appointment of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members.
This was announced by PML-N leader and former speaker of the National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq while talking to the media here.
Ayaz Sadiq alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to make Election Commission inactive due to foreign funding case against his own party (Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf) by delaying appointment of ECP members.
The former NA speaker told the media that Imran Khan was confused over Nawaz Sharif’s issue.
Talking about amendment in Army Act, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that opposition will give a joint respond to it once the Supreme Court issues a detailed verdict in the case.
Appointment of ECP members to be pondered over on Tuesday
ISLAMABAD: Meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan is scheduled to be held on Tuesday (3rd of December, 2019) in the Parliament House.
Nominations for appointment of Members of the ECP from Sindh and Balochistan forwarded by the Treasury and the Opposition will be pondered over by the Committee. It is pertinent to mention here that both the Treasury and the Opposition had forwarded their nominations for appointment of Members of the Election Commission of Pakistan to the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser and the Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjarani, who had forwarded the nominations to the Parliamentary Committee.
It is pertinent to mention here that Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif had sent a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan suggesting three names for new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
In the letter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President suggested Nasir Mahmood Khosa, Jaleel Abbas Jilani and Akhlaq Ahmed Tarar for the new chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Sharif send the suggestion to the premier as the five-year constitutional term of the incumbent ECP Chief is going to end on December 06.
In his letter, the PML-N President said that the bench of the election commission requires to comprise of at least three members.
“It [the bench] will become dysfunctional if the Chief Election Commissioner and other two members would not be appointed,” Sharif wrote in the letter.
He further added: “The constitution’s Article 213 (ii) A makes it mandatory for the prime minister to consult with the leader of the opposition over appointment of the CEC and other ECP members.
“The Supreme Court has also provided guidance for the consultation with its various decisions.”
“You would have initiated the process of consultation under the constitution earlier then now. Hopefully you will back the eligibility of the proposed persons,” read the text of the letter.
The incumbent Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza is going to retire on December 06, 2019.
Sardar Raza, in a letter forwarded to the government, had said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would become ineffective from December 7, 2019 if any replacement would not be appointed before his retirement.
Jalil Abbas Jilani is a Pakistani diplomat who served as the 22nd Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, whereas Nasir Mahmood Khosa has served as Federal Secretary and Punjab’s caretaker CM, and Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar has served as the Federal Secretary,Ministry of Science & Technology Government of Pakistan.
News Pakistan
