ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Wednesday demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) appoint provincial election commissioners and postpone its ban on the recruitment of public servants until a date for the elections is announced.
“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.
He then criticised the ECP for imposing a temporary ban on the recruitment of public servants and the allocation of funds for development schemes until elections are held, saying that this was an unprecedented decision.
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.
“These actions are appreciated; however, these [orders] seem to have been issued too early,” the letter read, adding that blocking the funds would affecting the smooth running of government affairs.
Meanwhile, opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah Wednesday said that ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had vowed to carry the ‘vision’ of General Zia-ul-Haq which cost him. The senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was speaking with Editor in Chief Pakistan Group of Newspapers and Chairman Roze News Sardar Khan Niazi in Roze News program Sachi Baat.
Shah that he has been in politics for decades now but the current political situation is the most precarious he has seen in all these years. Commenting further about the current political situation, Shah said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is responsible for the current political crisis.
The senior PPP leader said that democracy is the only way forward for Pakistan. He said that he himself and his party sacrificed a lot for democracy.
He also criticized the incumbent government for its ‘lies’ of ending the menace of loadshedding from the country. He was also critical of the economic performance of the government and said that country’s trade deficit has rocketed during the tenure of current government. Monitoring Desk/INP
