ISLAMABAD: The six names suggested by Prime Minister Imran Khan to the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, for selecting two from amongst them as the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are different from those Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi proposed three days back.Both sets of names were recommended in formal separate letters to the opposition leader. Of the names proposed by the prime minister, three fall in the category of technocrats, one is a retired high court judge and another is a former senior police officer. The sixth nominee [retired session’s judge] is disqualified in terms of the constitutional definition because only former high court judges are eligible if retired judicial officers to be selected.For the Balochistan seat, Imran Khan proposed the names of retired session’s judge Amanullah Baloch, lawyer Munir Kakar, businessman Mir Naveed Jan Baloch while his nominees for the Sindh quota include lawyer Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui, former Sindh High Court (SHC) Judge Farrukh Zia Sheikh and ex-Inspector General Police Iqbal Mehmood.Three days ago, Qureshi recommended the names of Dr Salahuddin Mengal, ex-advocate general; Mahmud Raza Khan, former additional advocate general and Raja Aamir Abbasi, ex-deputy prosecutor general of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for Balochistan. For the Sindh share, he suggested the names of Mohammad Nadeem Qureshi, ex-judge of the customs appellate tribunal, Abdul Rasool Memon, retired justice and former SHC registrar, and Noorul Haq Qureshi, former Islamabad High Court judge, having Sindh domicile.Technocrats dominate the prime minister’s list. The sitting two ECP members who represent Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are retired high court judges while the two retired members whose vacancies are being now filled were also similar former judicial officers.“I wonder at the change of all the names separately suggested by Imran Khan and Qureshi in a span of just three days,” former speaker and senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq told The News.He said Shahbaz Sharif’s reply to the prime minister’s letter, signed by his principal secretary Azam Khan, Grade 22, has been sent to Imran Khan. It has been signed by the director, Grade 19, to the opposition leader. The previous reply to Qureshi’s letter, which was written by an additional secretary of the foreign ministry, was also from the same director, he said.The fresh reply emphasises the importance of meaningful, substantive and result-oriented consultations in the light of a Supreme Court judgement and the parameters determined by it among other things, the former speaker said adding that the official communication is a violation of the Constitution. It suggested no names for the vacant posts of the ECP members.He agreed with the impression that the way the things are proceeding, it is absolutely unlikely that the two ECP members would be chosen as a result of the process going on between the prime minister and the opposition leader. The matter will finally go to the 12-member bipartisan parliamentary committee, he felt.Ayaz Sadiq believed that since the government and opposition parties enjoy equal support in this committee, the final nominees are unexpected to be firmed up there. He said the Constitution was silent how to break such a deadlock in the parliamentary committee.The former speaker said a best way was available to sort out the issue -- consultations between the premier and opposition leader --which is possible only when there is a change in aggressive policy of the government.He said that as the speaker he had resolved even the contentious issue of picking up the caretaker prime minister by having consultations with the then premier. This happens when the two sides are on talking terms or are at least inclined to resolve such matters amicably, he said.Article 213 of the Constitution says the prime minister will in consultation with the opposition leader forward three names for appointment of every ECP member to the parliamentary committee for hearing and confirmation of any one person for every vacancy. This is the first step.The second stage comes into play when there is no consensus between the premier and opposition leader. Each one of them will forward separate lists to the committee for consideration, which may confirm any one name. In both cases, the names are to go to the parliamentary committee, which takes decisions either unanimously or by majority, but when the members will be equally divided in favour or against any name, there will be a standoff.Under Article 218, an ECP member will be a person who has been a high court judge or a senior civil servant or is a technocrat and is not more than sixty-five years of age.Such a civil servant is the one who has served for at least twenty years under federal or a provincial government and has retired in grade 22 or above. A technocrat means a person who is the holder of a degree requiring conclusion of at least sixteen years of education, recognized by the Higher Education Commission and has at least 20 years of experience, including a record of achievements at the national or international level.
from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2HZ6I74
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