IHC summons AG on the matter of changing provisions of Election Act 2017

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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday summoned Attorney General (AG) on the matter of changing provisions of Election Act 2017.

A single bench of IHC presided over by Justice Amir Farooq took up the case for hearing.

Awami League (AL) Chief Sheikh Rashid, along with his counsel, appeared in the court for the hearing.

During the hearing, he requested the court to issue directives to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to summon all information from the candidates. Less information was being demanded from the candidates in the new form.  Every voter is entitled to seek information under Article 19 of the Constitution.

The defense counsel further said that provisions 60, 110 and 137 of Election Act 2017 were in contravention of Article 19 of the Constitution.

He requested the court to order the restoration of all provisions related to information which had been taken out of the form.

The judge said, “Some provisions of the Election Act 2017 have been challenged in the Supreme Court (SC).”

The court sought a reply from the law secretary, parliamentary affairs secretary and election commission secretary besides issuing directives to summon AG on the next hearing.

The hearing of the case was adjourned for two weeks.