ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended three senior officers over allegations of “misconduct and inefficiency.”
The officers, including Director of Administration and Provincial Election Commissioner Sindh Azhar Hussain Tunwari, Karachi Election Officer Khuda Bux, and Provincial Election Commissioner Sindh Sharifullah, have been suspended for 120 days pending an ongoing inquiry.
A notification from the ECP confirmed that the officers will remain in Karachi during the investigation and until further orders are issued.
The ECP’s inquiry is focused on investigating allegations of misconduct and inefficiency within its Sindh offices.
In a separate development last week, the Punjab Irrigation Secretary suspended four officials from service for corruption and negligence.
Those suspended include Superintendent Engineer (SE) Zahid Nawaz Mitro, Executive Engineer (EXEN) Head Taunsa Barrage Umair Sadaqat, and two Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) Mohammed Asif and Ghulam Akbar. They were suspended for 90 days under Section 6 of the PEEDA Act of 2006, following allegations of misappropriating Rs. 300 million for repairs to a breach at RD 34000.
Meanwhile, tensions between Pakistan’s parliament and the Supreme Court escalated yesterday, as National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq sent a strongly-worded letter to the Election Commission, urging it to respect parliamentary authority regarding the allocation of reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
This followed a Supreme Court ruling on July 12 that declared PTI a parliamentary party, granting it eligibility for reserved seats previously distributed to other parties in the national and provincial assemblies. Eight Supreme Court judges also released a note directing the ECP to implement the judgment.
In response, parliament passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, which introduces new restrictions on party-switching by independent candidates, effectively overriding the Supreme Court’s ruling. The bill was introduced by PML-N MNA Bilal Azhar Kayani.
