Stalemate Persists In Appointment Of ECP Members

An in-camera meeting of a parliamentary committee, formed to deliberate upon the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members from Sindh and Balochistan, ended in Islamabad on Tuesday without any consensus between the government and the opposition

ISLAMABAD (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 03rd December, 2019) An in-camera meeting of a parliamentary committee, formed to deliberate upon the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members from Sindh and Balochistan, ended in Islamabad on Tuesday without any consensus between the government and the opposition.Both the parties will meet today (Wednesday) to take up the matter further.Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, who is also the chairperson of the committee, chaired the meeting.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swati and State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan also participated in the huddle.According to details, the opposition in Tuesday's meeting sought more time from the government for consultation.The government and the opposition are going towards a consensus.

The opposition has sought time for further discussion. We are expecting that a decision on this will be taken tomorrow as both sides want to cooperate," said Mazari after the meeting."Discussions between the government and the opposition are still on.

ECP is an important institution of the country and we have to select its members responsibly. We are aiming to make decisions on merit," said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.The committee on Tuesday considered nominations forwarded by the treasury and the opposition.

The custodians of the two houses of parliament on Monday had warned if the parliamentary committee fails to evolve a consensus on the makeup of the ECP, then they would use their discretion and finalise Names of members from Sindh and Balochistan.Senate Chairman Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Qaiser on Monday expressed their satisfaction over the progress made on the issue thus far.

At the same time, they warned that if the Parliamentary Committee could not develop consensus, then they would pick out the names and send them to the president and the Islamabad High Court (IHC).Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a letter to Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, last week had proposed the names of Justice (retd) Sadiq Bhatti, Justice (retd) Noorul Haq Qureshi, and Abdul Jabbar Qureshi for the vacant post of ECP member from Sindh.

He also recommended the names of Dr Faiz Kakar, Naveed Jan Baloch, and Amanullah Baloch for ECP member from Balochistan.Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif also wrote a letter to the custodians of the two houses suggesting the names of Nisar Durrani, Justice (retd) Abdul Rasul Memon, and Aurangzeb Haq for the vacant slot of ECP member from Sindh.

He has also proposed the names of Shah Mohammad Jatoi, Mohammad Rauf Atta, and Raheela Durrani for ECP member from Balochistan.