As intense scrutiny of candidates hoping to contest in the upcoming elections continues, it is believed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) may require adequate Islamic knowledge to be a part of the requirements for candidacy criteria.
According to details, nominees may be asked to recite a Surah or a particular Quranic verse or answer questions about the number of Raka’ats in any of the daily prayers by the commission.
Some analysts have deemed this to be an “astounding” addition to the process of scrutiny. However, ECP has said that this is in line with constitutional requirements.
Sources said that a number of candidates appearing before returning officers had to answer different questions, including those about religious injunctions.
One such incident was recorded by TV channels when Owais Muzaffar Tappi, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate for a Sindh Assembly seat was asked about the number of prayers required to be offered in a day. It also took him a few moments to tell the number of Raka’ats in Fajr prayers.
In Hyderabad region, nomination papers of a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) candidate were rejected during scrutiny. The party then said that if lack of knowledge about Islamic teaching was declared as the reason behind the rejection, it would challenge the scrutiny process.
“Papers of one of our candidates from Matiari were rejected by the returning officer,” said MQM legal aid committee member advocate Aslam Pervez. “The reason is not yet mentioned but the candidate was asked several questions about Islamic teachings and if it would be the cause of the rejection we would definitely file an appeal.”
He said returning officers had no authority to ask such questions, adding that a person’s faith could not be gauged through questions relating more to his memory than his knowledge about Islam and its teachings.
However, a senior ECP official justified the questions and said that under article 62 (e) of the Constitution candidates were required to have adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings.
“There is no harm in asking such questions if the returning officers want to satisfy themselves about an important element of the qualification clauses”, he said.
However, political parties deemed it “inappropriate” to judge any candidate’s knowledge about Islamic teachings through a set of questions. They argue that memorising answers of certain questions could not determine anyone’s faith.