Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai has received another letter from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, inviting him for a meeting at the PM House on three key appointments in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Sources close to the opposition leader told Against the backdrop of the opposition leader's letter to the prime minister on August 10, three federal cabinet members Rana Sanaullah, Azam Nazeer Tarar and Dr.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry had met Achakzai, who expressed his willingness for a meeting in the Constitution Room. "So far as the latest communication is concerned, the opposition leader is expected to reply to it shortly after having consultations," sources noted. They pointed out that as per the second letter, the government appeared to have stepped back from the understanding reached between the opposition leader and the PM's team, which had visited the opposition leader's chamber.
The five-year terms of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Sindh ECP Member Nisar Ahmad Durrani and Balochistan Member Shah Muhammad Jatoi ended on January 26, but they continue to hold the offices under the 26 Amendment. Achakzai, who heads the Tehreek Tahafuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP)) and is chairman of the Pashtookhwa Milli Awami Party, had drawn the prime minister's attention to a "critical constitutional duty" and stated that the statutory tenure of the CEC and the members representing Sindh and Balochistan had ended on January 26.
In the letter, Achakzai had referred to two provisions of the Constitution, including Article 213(2A), which he said "mandates that the prime minister shall, in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, forward three names for the appointment of the CEC to a parliamentary committee for hearing and confirmation". Likewise, Article 218(2)(b) requires that the "appointment of the members of the ECP from each province shall follow the exact same procedural requirement of consultation between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition under Article 213".