PPP, PTI seeking relief from ECP

Viewpoint

ISLAMABAD: Once fierce condemners of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are now trying to use this institution to get even with their rivals.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which unprecedentedly hammered the ECP for a long time after losing the 2013 general elections, has approached it to get details of assets of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.

Without any hesitation, the ECP has ordered supply of the documents. The PPP will proceed further after studying these details and may come back to the ECP for action only after finding discrepancies in them. It wants to raise the issue of offshore companies in this case.

Even otherwise the declarations of assets and liabilities of the federal and provincial legislators filed with the ECP annually are easily available to all and sundry on payment of fee. Anybody can get the particulars of all the lawmakers in one go.

The ECP can’t hide or abridge the information provided by the legislators including the prime minister to it. Therefore, the provision of these statements by the ECP is not an issue it can be shy of resolving it.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stood first in the race to denounce the ECP in an unparalleled way over the past three years after it faced rout in the previous parliamentary polls. But now it desires relief from the ECP that may not be forthcoming because of its powers, which may trigger its bashing once again.

Its losing candidate Nawabzada Salauddin Saeed has filed a plea with the ECP for disqualification of Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar, son-in-law of the prime minister, accusing him of concealing his wife’s assets in his nomination papers. Maryam Safdar’s designation and role as trustee in her brothers’ offshore shells has precisely been questioned. He wants Safdar’s disqualification and has threatened to knock at the doors of the Supreme Court if the ECP did not come to his help.

On the other hand, Safdar has taken the stand that he did not hide his wife’s assets in his candidacy papers and was ready to quit politics if his political rival succeeded in proving his allegations against him. “I would respond to all the charges while the person who has filed the petition against me has been disqualified under articles 62 and 63 of Constitution.”

Safdar had beaten Saeed in NA-21 Mansehra in 2013 elections with a huge margin. He had secured 91,013 votes as against 25,615 ballots of Saeed, who had stood third in the clash. Saeed kept quiet for three years and sprang into action only after the emergence of the Panama leaks.

According to PTI spokesman Naeemul Haq, his party is also preparing to file a petition in the ECP against the prime minister. Dr Yasmin Rashed, who was defeated by Nawaz Sharif from Lahore, will submit the plea, he said.

Before that PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan had filed a petition in the ECP challenging the victory of Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the by-election to NA-122 Lahore last year. He had attached some affidavits of voters, claiming their votes were illegally transferred from this constituency against their will and consent on the eve of the by-poll. While dismissing his petition, the ECP had found that some of these affidavits were fake and fabricated for which action can be taken against Aleem Khan.

Subsequently, Ayaz Sadiq submitted a plea against Aleem Khan in the ECP, asserting that he should be disqualified for preparing and producing fake affidavits. It was perhaps for the first time that when the ECP was about to announce its decision on this plea, Aleem Khan got a stay order from the Lahore High Court, meaning that he stopped the ECP from delivering its ruling on these documents.

The PTI and PPP are seeking relief of their choice from the ECP when its four members, all retired high court judges, are about to retire on June 10 after completing their five-year term. These members specifically the one from Punjab, Justice (retd) Riaz Kayani, was the favourite target of PTI Chairman Imran Khan after the previous parliamentary polls.

The 22nd constitutional amendment passed by the National Assembly has also provided for appointment of technocrats, and retired and serving bureaucrats apart from the former judges as the ECP members or the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).