ECP gives PkMAP final chance to respond on amended constitution

ISLAMABAD, Oct 06 (APP):The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday gave the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) a final opportunity to submit its response on amendments to its constitution and adjourned until October 13 the hearings of cases concerning the party’s amended constitution and intra party elections.

A five member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the two cases. PkMAP counsel Advocate Eimal Khan Mandokhail appeared before the commission.

During the hearing on objections to PkMAP’s amended constitution, the commission noted that the party had been asked at the previous hearing to submit its response but had failed to do so.

The party’s counsel told the commission that the Balochistan High Court had heard the matter on October 5 and reserved its judgment, while also extending the stay order concerning the party’s intra-party elections.

The Chief Election Commissioner directed the counsel to read out the petition filed before the high court. However, the counsel could not produce the relevant record before the commission.

The Chief Election Commissioner directed the lawyer to appear at the next hearing with all relevant records and observed that the ECP would give PkMAP a final opportunity to respond to the issue of amendments to its constitution.

He said the commission would examine whether the high court’s stay order was limited only to the intra-party elections or also applied to the amended constitution.

The Chief Election Commissioner remarked that it appeared PkMAP was not taking the case seriously, saying the counsel should have appeared fully prepared or not appeared at all.

He further observed that if the high court’s stay order was limited to the intra party elections, the case concerning the amended constitution would proceed.

The ECP subsequently adjourned the hearings of PkMAP’s amended constitution and intra party election cases until October 13.