LHC issues non-bailable arrest warrant for secy ECP

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the Federal Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Ishtiaq Khan, for the ECP’s failure to scrutinise assembly candidates since the 2013 elections.
Justice Shehzada Mazhar ordered the police to arrest Ishtiaq Khan and present him before the court on February 10 to respond to the court’s order of releasing a scrutiny date for candidates on account of articles 62 and 63 and why it was not carried out.
Javed Babar had filed a petition against the federal secretary after the elections took place in 2013 as the ECP stated that it was unable to carry out a scrutiny of candidates before the elections.
The National Accountability Bureau and ECP had reached an understanding about continuing the scrutiny of candidates after their election for national and provincial assembly seats in 2013.
“Scrutiny of 728 members of the National and provincial assemblies will continue even after the May 11 polls,” NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid had told a newspaper in April 2013.
Earlier, NAB’s ex-chairman, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, had suggested to the ECP to scrutinise the candidates after the polls and not before them. He was of the view that scrutiny of thousands of candidates could not be completed by the deadline.It was believed that it would be difficult for the ECP and NAB to take any action against the legislators after the elections, especially against those who become ministers.