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ECP to ‘announce’ much-awaited election schedule on Dec 17

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11 months ago

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  • ECP organised training sessions for the officers.
  • Sources pointed out that 40 training sittings have been scheduled.
  • ECP imposed ban on transfers, postings of deputy commissioners.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will announce the election schedule on December 17 (Sunday) and nomination papers will be submitted on the next day of the schedule’s announcement, The News quoted sources as saying on Thursday.

As per the publication, the electoral watchdog will take 54 days to complete the process to finally hold balloting for the provincial and national assemblies on February 8, 2024.

Under Article 220 of the Constitution, the federal and provincial governments would be bound to assist the ECP in conducting the elections after the announcement of the schedule.

The Constitution provides under “Executive authorities to assist Commission, etc.” Article 220 of the Constitution that reads: “It shall be the duty of all executive authorities in the Federation and in the provinces to assist the Commissioner and the Election Commission in the discharge of his or their functions.”

The election body has sped up its preparations for the polls. The chief election commissioner (CEC), whose engagements have been increased on several counts, has set up a hotline in his office to maintain contact with all offices of the commission. Training for the district returning officers and returning officers started on December 13, and it would last till December 16. ECP organised training sessions for the officers with the assistance of the authorities concerned, sources said.

The officers will be imparted the best possible training so that they can satisfactorily perform their duties. They would be also briefed about the most sophisticated communication system that has been put in place to undertake the election duties. Sources pointed out that 40 training sittings have been scheduled for imparting all-round training to the officers.

The commission is providing training to 142 district returning officers and 859 returning officers. In the meanwhile, the commission sources said the ECP was fully prepared to hold free, fair and transparent elections in the country and no doubt should be left to hold polls according to the announced date.

The ECP also imposed a ban on transfers and postings of deputy commissioners throughout the country. The Establishment Division has been informed about it, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the ECP has drawn the attention of the members of parliament and provincial assemblies, Sindh and Balochistan to submit to the ECP by December 31, 2023, yearly statements of assets and liabilities including their spouse and dependent children as on the preceding 30th day of June on Form-B for the financial years 2022-2023 being a mandatory requirement under Section 137 of the Elections Act, 2017.

A statement issued by the Media Coordination and Outreach Wing of the ECP, the prescribed Form-B along with instructions/guidelines prepared in this regard can be obtained free of cost from the ECP Secretariat, Islamabad, offices of provincial election commissioners of respective province, Senate Secretariat, National Assembly Secretariat and secretariats of concerned provincial assemblies. Moreover, Form-B can also be downloaded from the ECP’s website i.e. www.ecp.gov.pk.

It may be pointed out that presently, only the Senate of Pakistan is in existence while the National Assembly and four provincial legislatures will come into being after the February 8 general elections.

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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2 days ago

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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3 days ago

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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