IHC wants parliament to decide ECP controversy
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a subtle way has reminded the government that a presidential order cannot overrule constitutional provisions while violation of the Constitution is tantamount to treason. In the petitions filed against the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed that two ECP members “have not been appointed in the manner prescribed under Article 213 read with Article 218 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973”. Subsequently, the court taking a lenient view of the matter referred the case to parliament for deciding the controversy related to the ECP members’ appointment by President Dr Arif Alvi. President Alvi, using his ‘discretionary power’, appointed Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui from Sindh and Munir Ahmed Kakar from…