In light of IHC decision: Parliament rejects ECP members’ nomination

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the Senate and National Assembly Thursday rejected the government’s appointment of two members of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Sindh and Balochistan and sought fresh nominations from Prime Minister Imran Khan and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif.

In a letter addressed to the prime minister and opposition leader, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser and Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani sought fresh nominations of two commission members [from Sindh and Balochistan] so that these could be sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments in the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Athar Minallah on November 4 suspended the presidential notification of appointment of the two ECP members. Justice Athar observed that the elected representatives of parliament should have made the decision, as supremacy of parliament was more important for the court. He expressed the hope that the issue will be resolved in parliament.

“We have full confidence in the speaker National Assembly and chairman Senate in this regard,” he remarked. He had also directed that the matter be resolved before December 7 and the court should be informed about it.