ISLAMABAD: After sleeping over the matter of political affiliations of several ministers of caretaker setup of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for almost seven long months, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suddenly has sprung into action and asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister (CM) to remove ministers engaged in political activities.
The caretaker government was put ion place in January this year and almost all caretakers ministers had political affiliations but the ECP did not take any action despite continuous media reports on the matter.
The Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) taking notice of the political involvement of caretaker ministers, secretaries and assistants dispatched a letter to the KP caretaker CM seeking their removal.
The letter stated ECP has come to know about the appointments of caretaker ministers based on political affiliations and former caretaker minister Shahid Khattak is proof of political appointment.
However, there are still several ministers who have expressed their political affiliation in media which is a violation of the Election Act 2017.
Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sought a report from the Election Commissioner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding the participation and speech of caretaker minister Shahid Khattak in a public meeting.
In a statement, a representative of the ECP said the purpose of report is to assess the situation and decide if any legal action is necessary.
The spokesperson emphasized that it is essential for all incumbent governments to adhere to the law and provide complete cooperation to the commission to ensure fair, transparent, and unbiased elections.
The commission cannot grant permission to any incumbent government or minister to participate in any electoral campaign. In case of violation, legal action will be taken, concluded the spokesperson.
