Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs that Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has violated the law on delimitation process and anybody can challenge it in the Supreme Court.
The committee met here with MNA Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal in the chair at the Parliament House and discussed issues relating to delimitation of constituencies, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Ministry of Housing and Works.
During the discussion on delimitation issue, an official of the Law Ministry told the committee that the ECP did not consider the base of population during delimitation process. He said a constituency of district Battagram was created on the base of 600,000 people while a constituency of district Hafizabad was created on the base of 120,000 people. He said in three provinces, no constituency is expanded out of a district while in Balochistan; a constituency is expanded out of a district and enters another district.
He said the law gives five to ten percent relaxation of varying population on the base of a constituency. But the ECP has considered more than 30 percent of variation of population for creating a constituency which is a violation of the law. He said if any person challenges it in apex court, the court will have to decide in this regard.
However, the officials who were sitting in the committee meeting did not give any response to the objection raised by the Law Ministry.
The additional secretary ECP briefed the committee about the issue of delimitations regarding proposals/objections received from the general public and plans for their disposal. He informed that a number of representations have been filed against preliminary delimitations-2018. He said the ECP uploaded all representations and provided facility to check representations, map and other relevant information on the website. After having detailed deliberations, the committee recommended that dates of hearing should be finalized and uploaded on website as early as possible. The PIA chief operating officer briefed the committee about the suspension of flights / routes to New York. It was informed that due to incurrence of heavy losses on NYC route since very long, the PIA is in the process of restructuring its routes to minimize the losses and expand its revenue through economically viable routes.
The secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs briefed the committee about the comprehensive report/implementation status of the previous recommendations of the committee. He informed that the ministry has complied with the directions of the committee and sent the letters to the relevant department for implementation on the direction of the committee.
The committee considered 'The Elections (Amendment) Act, 2017,' moved by MNA Naeema Kishwer Khan. After having discussion, the committee deferred the said bill.
The representative from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs also briefed the committee about the functioning of Prime Minister's Public Affairs and Grievances Wing. It was informed that the Prime Minister's Public Affairs and Grievances Wing processes complaints received regarding the financial assistance sought by the poor, people affected by natural disasters and terrorism, employment and services issues, matters related to police, property, land and family disputes, and provision of basic amenities like infrastructure and utilities. It also deals with the requests and recommendations referred by the parliamentarians.
The joint secretary Ministry of Housing and Works briefed the committee about the details of officers residing in Federal Lodges, Federal Hostel and Family Suites in Islamabad. After having discussion, the committee recommended that quality of services and maintenance should be improved at any cost in Federal Lodges/hostels, and Gulshan-e-Jinnah Complex, Islamabad.
MNAs including Malik Ihtebar Khan, Dr Nisar Ahmad Jatt, Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Shazia Mubashar, Shahida Rehmani, Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, Sayed Essa Nori and Naeema Kishwer Khan attended the meeting. The meeting was also attended by senior officers of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Housing and Works, Election Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan International Airlines.
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