Sikandar Sultan’s hello to Sheikh Rashid!

ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is determined to do its job as per the law and the constitution without bothering about any pressure from any side.

When approached by The News on Monday and asked about Sheikh Rashid’s statement demanding immediate announcement of the election schedule for Punjab, he said that the Commission knows what it needs to do under the law and the constitution. The Commission, he said, cannot be pressurised by anyone.

He has a lot to remind Sheikh Rashid, who said that Sikandar Sultan had worked with him as secretary railways for three years when he was railways minister in the Imran Khan cabinet. The CEC, who is a retired bureaucrat, said that he had worked with Sheikh Rashid only for one year and not for three years. Without sharing the details, he said that Sheikh Rashid should recall what he used to tell Sikandar Sultan after attending almost every cabinet meeting of the Imran Khan government.

Meanwhile, sources in the Election Commission told this correspondent that the schedule for the elections in Punjab will be announced within a few days. These sources said that the schedule has to be announced before 54 days of the elections date, which is April 30.

After the announcement of the election schedule, the ECP will engage with all the authorities concerned including provincial government(s), finance division, defence ministry, high court concerned for holding fair and free elections.

The post-election schedule consultative process with the federal and provincial authorities will be critical as it will actually determine whether the Commission will be provided the required assistance to hold the election on April 30 in a fair, free and independent manner.

Previously when all these authorities were consulted, none of them was ready for the elections. Not only the Punjab and KP chief secretaries and police chiefs had insisted that the law and order situation is not in favour of holding elections, the finance ministry had said that it has no finance to cover election expenses, the interior ministry was also of the view that the law enforcing personnel can’t be spared for election duties, the defence authority also said “No” whereas the Lahore High Court had also declined to allow its judicial officers to do the job of Returning Officers and Deputy Returning Officers for Punjab provincial assembly elections.

Following the Supreme Court’s order, the President in consultation with the Commission announced April 30 as the election date for Punjab. In the case of KP, Governor Ghulam Ali on Monday said that he would follow the directions of the Supreme Court and would announce the date of elections in KP after consultation with the ECP.

The KP governor belongs to JUIF, whose chief and PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday severely criticised the Supreme Court’s decision regarding elections in Punjab and KP and called for postponement of the elections owing to the prevailing economic crisis and fragile security situation in the country. “Today we are asked that it is a constitutional requirement to hold elections within 90 days, but the same Supreme Court had given Gen Pervez Musharraf three years to hold polls,” Maulana was quoted by the media as saying.

The ruling PDM including the PMLN is not keen for elections in Punjab and KP. It is said that the ruling alliance is expected to meet soon to deliberate on the issue and devise a strategy for delaying the polls.