Islamabad:

Opposition leaders in the National Assembly and the Senate moved Islamabad High Court (IHC) towards delay in the appointment of the new Chief Commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Pakistan Election Commission (ECP).

Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz requested the court to instruct the federal government to initiate the process of meaningful consultation with the opposition to appointments of the new CEC and two ECP members.

Current CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja and ECP member Sindh and ECP member Balochistan ended their terms recently. The petition in IHC stated that the court should prevent them from continuing in the office.

Ayub, the National Assembly’s opposition leader, and Faraz, the Senate’s opposition leader, said the Constitution was violated by delaying these appointments as the Prime Minister, the National Assembly’s Speeches and the Senate President had failed to fulfill their constitutional responsibility.

The petition requested the court to instruct the speaker to form a parliamentary committee, order the chairman to send the names of the senators to the speaker and order the Prime Minister to hold consultations with the opposition leader in accordance with Article 213 of the Constitution.