ECP rejects plea to remove Fawad as minister

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan rejected the petition, seeking the removal of Caretaker Federal Minister on Privatisation Fawad Hassan Fawad and ruled that his position could not influence the electoral process. 

The five-member bench of the Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja, issued the order to the petition, which was filed by SC advocate Syed Azizud Din Kaka Khel, a few months ago, through which he had sought the removal of ‘biased’ members of the federal cabinet.

The order reads, “from the perusal of the record it reveals that Fawad Hassan Fawad is presently working as minister to Caretaker Prime Minister for Privatization and he has served as a civil servant and remained posted at different key posts. He did not hold any political position in any political government rather he served as a civil servant under various political governments which was part of his duty”. 

It noted that the petitioner has only emphasized that the respondent has worked with the political governments and has affiliation with them. “The arguments of the petitioner are not supported by any evidence and he did not convince the bench regarding interference of the respondent in the ongoing election process. The matter cannot be decided in favour of the petitioner on the basis of apprehensions,” the ECP bench maintained.

“Civil Servants are liable to serve in any field assigned to them during their service and this fact does not prove that the civil servants have political affiliations. From the foregoing facts, we are clear in our minds that the contentions of the petitioner qua biasness of Fawad Hassan Fawad, having served at key positions in previous governments and his political affiliation, are based on mere allegations which lack substantial evidence. Fawad, having portfolio of caretaker privatization minister has no nexus with the election process and cannot influence the upcoming general election. The contention of the petitioner that Fawad has served in key positions due to alleged political affiliation appears forceless and untenable as the appointment on such key posts is carried out strictly on merit keeping in view the performance of Civil Servants. Therefore, we are not convinced with the contentions of the petitioner and are inclined to reject the same. Order accordingly,” the order concluded.

Meanwhile, the ECP may meet again for the third consecutive day today (Friday) to take a final decision about its possible option regarding the Peshawar High Court’s order of suspending its verdict on PTI intra-party polls and election symbol.

The Election Commission held deliberations on the development Wednesday and Thursday and also heard from its legal team on the possible options vis-à-vis the PHC single bench (interim) order. “The Election Commission had threadbare discussions on the issue and some proposals came up as a future course of action, which included waiting for the outcome of the two-member PHC bench’s proceedings, starting from January 09, 2024,” sources privy to the meeting told The News here.

The PHC on Tuesday granted interim relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by restoring its election symbol ‘bat’ till a final decision on the party’s plea against the Election Commission’s ruling against intra-party polls. It suspended the ECP’s order of declaring the intra-party polls ‘illegal’ and adjourned the hearing till the end of winter vacations. The court said that a two-member bench will resume the proceedings on the case.