ISLAMABAD - Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday recommended three names each for the vacant posts of ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan.
Opposition leader, responding to the letter of Prime Minister about the vacant posts of ECP, shared three names each for both the small provinces after the gap of around a month.
For ECP member from Balochistan, Sharif recommended the names of Shah Mohammad Jatoi, Chief Justice (Retd) Muhammad Noor Meskenzai and Muhammad Rauf Ata for their nomination.
Against the PM’s recommended names, he recommended the names of Justice (Retd) Abdul Rasool Memon, Khalid Javed and Justice (Retd) Noorul Haq Qureshi for their nomination as a member of the ECP from Sindh.
“I suggest that we should proceed in accordance with the binding judgements of honourable Supreme Court,” said opposition leader in his letter to PM, mentioning that the consultation between opposition leader and prime minister should be constitutional.
“The letter was addressed to me by foreign minister but by an additional secretary of his office, which is violation of the constitution,” he observed. Opposition leader was of the view the letter from government side could not properly suggest that it was from prime minister or from foreign minister.
Says PM’s letter was in violation of Article 213
Sharif, in a six-page response, said that the letter was also in violation of Article 213(2A) as referral of names to the parliamentary committee can only be made by the prime minister in consultation with the leader of the opposition on the issue.
“By all means the first priority has to be directed to evolving consensus between the consultees by mutual discussion of the merits and demerits of the concerned candidates,” he said, commenting on ‘written consultation’ by prime minister.
An earlier letter sent by the office of the foreign minister had been rejected by the opposition.
Last month, in a letter sent by the PM Office to Shehbaz, PM Imran suggested names for the appointment of two members of ECP from Sindh and Balochistan.
Khan, unlike previous practice, is engaged in consultation with opposition leader in by writing a letter.
The Premier had recently made an attempt to engage opposition leader in consultation over the appointment of two members of ECP from Sindh and Balochistan but the latter criticised the act of written communication. He had engaged in consultation with opposition leader after the expiry of deadline for the appointment on two vacant seats.
Prime Minister had suggested the names of Aman Ullah Baloch (former district and sessions judge, Quetta), Munir Kakar (a lawyer) and Mir Naveed Jan Baloch (a former caretaker minister) for their nomination as a member of the ECP from Balochistan.
For Sindh, he proposed the names of Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui, a lawyer; Justice (Retd) Farrukh Zia Sheikh, a former judge of the Sindh High Court; and Iqbal Mehmood, retired inspector general of Sindh, for their nomination as a member of the ECP from Sindh.
Sharif had already conveyed reservations over delay in the appointment of the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan owing to reluctance of the prime minister to hold direct consultation with him.
The ECP members Abdul Ghaffar Soomro and Justice retired Shakeel Baloch from Sindh and Balochistan had retired on January 26, 2019 and their replacements under the Constitution should have been appointed by March 12, 2019. The government has missed constitutional deadline for appointing the members within 45 days.
According to article 215(4) of the Constitution, “Vacancy in the office of the commissioner or a member shall be filled within 45 days.” Around a month has passed after the expiry of the deadline and matter is still hanging in the balance.
Under the prescribed rules and procedures (Articles 213 and 218 of the Constitution), “The PM in consultation with the opposition leader forwards three names for the appointment of the chief election commissioner or a commission [ECP] member to a parliamentary committee for hearing and confirmation of one name.”
