ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday, to review the order barring public institutions from recruitment and demanded that the appointment provincial election commissioners.
“The election commissioner has been misguided,” PPP’s Shah said while talking to the media. He said that the ECP has gained greater autonomy after the 18th Amendment, leaving no reason for its failure.
“The coming general elections will be a test for the ECP,” he said, demanding that senior officers be appointed as provincial elections commissioners. “Otherwise, doubts and suspicions will arise,” he said.
Shah later wrote to the commission stating that the timing of the ban was unhelpful and that it should have come into force only after the date of the elections had been announced.
Referring to the notification which halts hiring in the federal, provincial and local government institutions since April 2018, Shah pointed out that order has been “issued much before the announcement of Elections 2018 dates”.
The ECP notification had instructed that development plans such as the installation of the gas pipelines, carpeting of roads, water supply schemes and others approved on or later than April 1, 2018, will be halted while funds issued for ongoing development works will not be transferred.
In another statement the ECP had decided to deploy officers of a subordinate court as district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers in the upcoming general elections. For this purpose, ECP had requested all high courts to provide lists of their judicial officers. The courts have complied with the ECP requests and provided the lists.
