- Opposition leader urges ECP members to resign with dignity, clarifies that demand for resignations solely PPP’s, does not support PTI’s stance
- Tells Ayaz Sadiq to present himself before public instead of approaching the Supreme Court
- Says Sindh govt, PPP monitoring Karachi operation and there is no need for dedicated committee
Talking to journalists in the federal capital on Tuesday, National Assembly (NA) Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah on Tuesday apologised for appointment of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s officials as he played a role in the matter.
Shah said that ECP members have become controversial and should resign with dignity. He said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had already urged the ECP officials to resign. “The members are being paid at least Rs 0.8 million every month, why would they resign?” he however wondered.
The PPP leader has also recommended Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s recently de-seated Ayaz Sadiq to present himself before the public instead of approaching the Supreme Court (SC).
Shah also said that demand for resignations is solely PPP’s and by any means this does not support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s demands.
ECP is a constitutional institution which should work independently. The Security Printing Press is capable of printing ballots within 10 days, he added. He said that ECP’s experiment of biometrics was successful in Haripur.
While talking about relations with India, the opposition leader criticised Indian violations of ceasefire treaty along Line of Control (LoC) and propaganda over Kashmir dispute. “India is shying away from dialogue about Kashmir,” he added.
Shah also talked about Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s resignations matter. He said that he held meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Farooq Sattar to resolve the issue. He is hopeful that MQM would withdraw resignations, he added.
The PPP leader said that operation against ill motives in Karachi should be kept separate from politics and MQM must display political wisdom. He said that the Sindh government and PPP are monitoring the operation and there is no need to form a dedicated committee for the purpose