Govt tells SC to hold their horses as the constitution allows 45 days before appointment of ECP members, a period that expires on July 27
CJ says appointments should’ve been made before June 12 when the outgoing members retired
The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the federal government to appoint members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by July 27.
Chief Justice (CJ) Anwar Zaheer Jamali remarked on the occasion, “No one will be allowed to play with the constitution.
He further remarked: “Implementation of the constitution is our objective. We are not concerned whether someone is in the country or not. We don’t want this issue prolonged for six years. Already the population census in the country has been delayed for eight years. Had the government completed the process of appointment of the ECP members before June 12, the Commission would not have become dysfunctional.”
A two-member bench of the SC presided over by CJ Anwar Zaheer Jamali took up for hearing suo motu case of appointment of ECP members on Thursday.
At the start of the hearing, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Rana Waqar took the plea that the members retired on June 12. The time available to them according to the constitution is 45 days, which will expire on July 27.
The CJ remarked: “The government should have completed this phase earlier so that the ECP had not have gone dysfunctional.”
“Why was the job not completed before June 12?” he questioned.
The prosecutor said the prime minister was outside the country due to which delay was caused in the appointment of members of the ECP. However, the consultation process is underway with all the opposition parties.
The CJ remarked, “We have no concern with meetings between the government and opposition. Our aim is to implement the constitution. We are not concerned if the PM is in the country or not.”
The prosecutor said that detailed reply will be filed in the court during the next hearing of the census case on Friday.
The court, after hearing the AAG, ordered the government to appoint members of the ECP by July 27 at every cost.
