ECP members to be decided on Monday

Dar says names of retired judges, bureaucrats under consideration; Khursheed says opposition has nominated three persons each from all four provinces

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee meeting, comprising six members each from the government and opposition, will be held on Monday to decide the names of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members.

Talking to the media outside the Parliament House after a meeting, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah on Thursday said efforts would be made to unanimously have one name from both the government and opposition sides.

Dar said the procedure of appointing the ECP members would be held in accordance  with rules, adding that a consensus between the prime minister and the opposition leader was necessary to fill the vacancies.

He said the names received from the government and the opposition parties from all the four provinces would be sent to the National Assembly speaker’s office and later referred to the parliamentary committee for final approval.

He said efforts were being made to follow the constitutional limit of 45 days to notify the names on July 25, following the due procedure and law.

He said that several joint meetings of the government and opposition were held to resolve the matter in a positive way and expressed the hope that names would be finalised with consensus.

According to Dar, the committee starts its work when it receives the names of members from both the opposition and governments in the four provinces. The names included retired judges and bureaucrats, he added.

Khursheed said the opposition, realising the national responsibility, had tried its best to present the name of those who were non-controversial.

He added names of only those persons had been included who were transparent and without having any political background.

He said the opposition had finalised the names after detailed discussion with all parties, adding that the opposition had collected three names from each province and the process was completed with the satisfaction of all nine parties, including PTI and MQM.