IHC orders to transfer ECP members case to parliament

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered to transfer the case of appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to the parliament.

A single-member bench summoned by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the case of appointment of two members of the ECP while the federal government in its reply submitted today insisted to stop the hearing of the case.

The reply submitted by secretary parliamentary affairs said that the Supreme Court bar has filed this sought of a petition in the court insisted that not to hear the case until it is decided in the SC.

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The court ordered to send the appointment of two new members of the SC to the Parliament during the hearing of the case.

While IHC Chief Justice remarked that Speaker National Assembly and Chairman Senate to end the deadlock on the issue.

IHC Chief Justice urged both the personalities running the parliament to save election commission becoming non-functional.

In August, the parliamentary affairs ministry had notified the appointment of Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui and Munir Ahmed Kakar as ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan respectively after President Arif Alvi’s approval.

The appointments came seven months after Abdul Ghaffar Soomro and Justice (retd) Shakeel Baloch got retired in January.

However, Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Raza Khan had refused to take oath from the two new members nominated by the government.