ISLAMABAD - Plainly hinting at backing off from another high-sounding statement it made over a couple of weeks back, the Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday announced paying ‘sympathetic consideration’ to requests for lifting ban on public funds’ diversion and recruitments in government departments on a ‘case-to-case basis’.
The ECP statement on Friday said, “Requests for recruitments from ministries/divisions/departments or institutions of the federal government or any department or institution of any provincial or local government, including health and education, will be considered on case-to-case basis.” It also stated, “Requests from foreign donors to divert funds from one project to another will be considered by the ECP on case-to-case basis.”
“It was further resolved that some of the requests for grant of permission to make recruitments in relaxation of the ban were genuine and required sympathetic consideration,” the ECP stated. It further said, “All vacancies which were advertised on or before August 31, 2012, are outside the purview of the afore-referred directive and may be filled in.”
The decision is likely to further annoy the political parties which stand unanimous on voicing their distrust in the present Election Commission, particularly after it backtracked on delimiting electoral constituencies in Karachi. Earlier, on January 22, 2013, the ECP cited irregularities in the prime minister’s constituency in Gujjar Khan to impose ban on the diversion of public funds and recruitments in the federal and provincial government departments except those being done through Federal Public Service Commission and provincial public service commissions.
Just two days later, following a meeting with a government delegation on January 24, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim reportedly assured the government representatives of lifting the ban on public funds’ diversions and giving a ‘sympathetic’ consideration to lifting of the ban on recruitments.
The commission last Wednesday exempted the constitutional bodies, stating it had received 25 references from the federation and the provinces to lift the ban on inductions in government departments and public funds’ diversion. On Thursday, the commission continued with its ‘sympathy’ on lifting the ban with the ‘exemption’ extended to sensitive organisations and security and intelligence agencies. The commission’s notable leniency appeared to have reached the next level as on Friday it stopped just short of completely lifting the ban, but did not miss contending that the requests in this regard would be considered on case-to-case basis.
“What else can we expect from a politicised entity? We have already refused to recognise the legitimacy of the partisan ECP members. Such kinds of decisions are bound to keep arriving in the presence of such negligent, ineffective and politicised persons,” deplored PTI Chief Election Commissioner Hamid Khan advocate. "The CEC may be an honest man, but that doesn’t make a difference so long as he remains surrounded by incompetent, partisan and controversial officials,” Khan told this correspondent.
Considering the references pending with the ECP, it transpires that it would consider the requests of 25 departments on case-to-case basis amidst the likelihood that majority of these organisations may benefit from its ‘leniency’ towards the issue. However, the ECP says it has resolved that the ban on all kinds of recruitments and diversion of funds, as reproduced above, will continue.
A day earlier on Thursday, the leading opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf did not show up on the ECP’s call to hold a meeting with the commission’s management. The same day, an audibly irked CEC termed the accusations of the political parties against the Election Commission of Pakistan false and baseless. Even the opposition parties, including PML-N and JI, that attended Thursday’s meeting slammed the commission for its apparent inability to conduct delimitation of constituencies in Karachi and removal of discrepancies in voters’ verification exercise in the cosmopolitan city.
While credible quarters in the opposition want dissolution of the ECP to be followed by its reconstitution, several political parties have strong resentment over the appointment of seemingly ineffective and elderly CEC and allegedly partisan ECP members as well as other senior officials.