NA speaker, Senate chairman to engage opposition over ECP members.

Byline: Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD -- Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser have decided to hold consultations with the opposition parties to resolve the controversy over the appointment of the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The decision to engage the opposition was made by the custodians of the two houses of parliament after discussing the matter with the government's legal team and constitutional experts during a meeting here on Tuesday.

In the meeting, Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Azam Swati and Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan briefed the Senate chairman and the NA speaker on the legal and constitutional aspects of the issue in the light of the Oct 15 decision of the Islamabad High Court.

Sources said the participants were of the view that in order to resolve the matter once and for all, they might have to amend the Constitution or do legislation and for this purpose they would need the support of the opposition parties, especially in the Senate where the government was in a minority.

The Senate chairman and the NA speaker had discussed the issue on Monday also and they had decided to meet again on Tuesday in the presence of the law minister and the attorney general.

The meetings were held in the wake of the last month's order of the IHC regarding the controversial and unilateral appointment of the ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan by President Dr Arif Alvi.

The law minister and the attorney general had been asked to suggest a way out to resolve the controversy that had been lingering on since the retirement of ECP members Abdul Ghaffar Soomro from Sindh and retired Justice Shakeel Baloch from Balochistan in January. Under the law, their replacements were to be appointed within 45 days.

Under the Constitution, a consultation between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly is required for the appointment of the ECP members as well as the chief election commissioner (CEC).

After failure of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif to reach a consensus on the names, the matter was referred to a bi-partisan parliamentary committee, but it also failed to reach a consensus.

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