President Dr Arif Alvi Monday appointed two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to a statement from the President House, Babar Hassan Bharwana and Justice (R) Ikramullah Khan have been appointed as the ECP members from Punjab and KP respectively.
The president made these appointments as per Article 218(2)(b) of the Constitution on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Article 218(2)(b) states: four members [of ECP], one from each Province, each of whom shall be a person who has been a judge of a High Court or has been a senior civil servant or is a technocrat and is not more than sixty-five years of age, to be appointed by the President in the manner provided for appointment of the Commissioner in clauses (2A) and (2B) of Article 213.
The positions fell vacant after the retirement of Justice (R) Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi (member Punjab) and Justice (R) Mrs. Irshad Qaiser (member KP) on July 25 last year. They retired after completing their five-year term. According to the Constitution, the new appointments had to be made within 45 days of the retirement (September 9), but the process took 10 months due to the differences between the former PTI government and the then opposition parties.
