Skip to main content

ECP summons home secretary over arrest of S.Waziristan election candidates

ISLAMABAD: Disturbed by the arrest of two candidates from South Waziristan tribal district, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday summoned the home and tribal affairs secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ECP ordered Secretary Ikramullah Khan to appear before it in person at 11am on Friday (June 28).

“It has come in the notice of this Commission that one Mr Muhammad Arif (independent contesting candidate from PK-113, South Waziristan-I) and Mr Muhammad Iqbal (independent contesting candidate from PK-114, South Waziristan-II), have been arrested by the Deputy Commissioner, South Waziristan on 19th June, 2019 and 24th June, 2019, respectively, allegedly under Section 3 of the West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960 (MPO) for one month and both the candidates have been sent to jails of Dera Ismail Khan and Haripur…..,” the ECP said.

It observed that the act of the administration prior to conduct of election was tantamount to obstructing the election campaign and the constitutional duty of the Election Commission in respect of free, fair and transparent elections in accordance with Article 218 (3) of the Constitution.

The notice also refers to a meeting held at the ECP on June 12 where conduct of provincial assembly elections in erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) was discussed and the polls were deferred for 18 days on a request of the provincial government.

The polls that were originally scheduled to be held on July 2 will now be taking place on July 20.

“During the ….meeting, while postponing the elections for further 20 days, this Commission directed the Provincial Government (represented by your good self) to take extra measures to improve security situation in the subject area for peaceful conduct of elections in order to meet the constitutional requirements in light of the 25th constitution amendment,” the notice pointed out.

In a related development, the ECP authorised the district returning officers and returning officers appointed for the conduct of elections in the 16 provincial assembly constituencies of the tribal districts formerly known as Fata to exercise the powers of a magistrate first class under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, with immediate effect and until the consolidation and announcement of official results.

“The aforesaid officers shall exercise the powers of magistrate first class in respect of the offences defined in Section 169 and Section 171 punishable under Section 174 of Elections Act, 2017…and may take cognizance of any such offence under Section 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and shall try it summarily under Chapter XX of the Code,” a notification issued on Thursday reads.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2019



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2RDqiZm
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IT ministry forms panel to review social media rules

ISLAMABAD: While uproar against the new rules to regulate social media continues from various segments of society, including parliamentarians, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and civil society, the information technology ministry on Friday formed a committee to review the rules. The federal cabinet approved the rules on Feb 11, but later after opposition from various quarters, including companies that manage different social media platforms, the prime minister announced that a fresh consultation process would be launched over the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020. The committee formed by the IT ministry is headed by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Amir Azeem Bajwa while its members are Eazaz Aslam Dar, additional secretary of IT; Tania Aidrus, member of the Strategic Reforms Imple­mentation Unit, Prime Minister Office; and Dr Arslan Khalid, focal person on digital media at the PM Office. Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Ma
Post a Comment
Read more

Young girl’s tragic story makes her symbol of Yemen war

Buthaina Mansur al-Rimi’s life has changed drastically since last year — orphaned in Sanaa, the little girl controversially ended up in Saudi Arabia for medical care and has just returned to Yemen’s capital. Her entire immediate family was wiped out in an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s government, using an explosive device Amnesty International says was made in the US. Images of Buthaina’s rescue and a picture of her swollen and bruised at a hospital trying to force open one of her eyes with her fingers were beamed worldwide. That international fame saw her become something of a propaganda pawn in the war between Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels and Saudi media. “I was in my mother’s room with my father, sisters, brother and uncle, the first missile hit, and my father went to get us sugar to get over the shock, but then the second missile hit, and then the third,” she says. “And then the house fell,” adds the little girl, who says she is eight. It was the
Post a Comment
Read more