Procurement & recruitment: ECP writes to AGPR on violation of ban on ads

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday wrote to the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) on appearance of ads and tenders in newspapers despite clamping of a ban on such activities after April 1.

In a letter, the commission said it had been observed that tenders’ recruitment notices for procurement and recruitment etc were being published in newspapers on a regular basis.

The commission has taken a serious view of this fact and desired that all such payments pertaining to the tenders published after April 1, 2018 may not be released and stopped forthwith.

It also called for issuance of necessary instructions in this connection to respective subordinate offices for strict compliance.

Meanwhile, the dispatch of final electoral rolls to districts across Pakistan is under way and will be completed on May 27.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal on Thursday applied for allotment of election symbol. Similarly, the ‘estranged’ MNA of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Ayesha Gulalai has also submitted an application for allotment of ‘bat’ as an election symbol for her newly-formed PTI-Gulalai.

It is pertinent that the PTI has been contesting elections with ‘bat’ as its election symbol and it is believed that the party will retain it.