ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) calling for the removal of caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar and three cabinet members from office.
The petition submitted by lawyer Syed Azizuddin Kakakhel urged the ECP to remove cabinet members Ahad Cheema, Fawad Hasan Fawad, and Principal Secretary to PM Syed Tauqir Hussain from their posts.
The petition pleaded that transparency of elections is not possible due to these persons being in the caretaker government. He said they have been part of the previous government and can influence the upcoming elections. “If the government wants a transparent election, these people should be removed from their positions,” the petition reads.
It must be mentioned that ECP had earlier advised interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to refrain from choosing individuals with “known political allegiance” as cabinet members in order to ensure a level playing field for all political parties and candidates in the upcoming elections.
“It is a general perception that the caretaker government is a continuation of the previous government,” wrote ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Hussain in a letter to Tauqir Shah, secretary to the interim prime minister.
It said a recent press conference by a political party that accused the caretaker administration of continuing the previous political legacy is a sign in this direction The ECP special secretary stated that it was preferred that due diligence be used to prevent picking individuals with known political allegiances as cabinet members.
Additionally, to strengthen the reality of a neutral caretaker setup, this factor should be taken into consideration when choosing senior public employees for appointment to crucial positions, the ECP official said.
He highlighted that the electoral watchdog was required by Article 218 (3) of the Constitution to organize and conduct the election as well as to make the necessary measures to ensure that it was conducted honestly, justly, fairly, and in conformity with the law. “This provision is actually a clarion call to make sure that all political parties and contending candidates for elections are provided with a level playing field,” he wrote.
Earlier in July, ECP directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan to immediately de-notify ministers, advisers and special assistants involved in politics. The directives were issued in a letter sent by Secretary Omar Hamid Khan on behalf of the election organizing authority to the interim chief minister.
The ECP regretted that it had noticed that some cabinet members were appointed on the basis of political affiliations. It also cited the example of Shahid Khattak, the former interim transport minister, who resigned after he was found indulging in political activities.
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