The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Nawaz League (PML-N) have agreed to join hands for the appointment of candidates of their choice to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s vacant posts.
The PML-N said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday called Shehbaz Sharif by telephone and discussed the ECP issue.
Two seats of the ECP, one each from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, fell vacant on the retirement of members on July 26.
According to a PML-N tweet, they discussed the ECP appointments and agreed that they will proceed forward in consultation with each other.
Meanwhile, the PPP also tweeted that the two leaders, besides the appointment of the ECP members, also discussed the overall political situation in the country.
The contact between the two leaders comes amid a rift in the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance that the PPP quit in April along with the Awami National Party (ANP).
Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote a letter to Shehbaz Sharif regarding ECP appointments, in accordance with Articles 213 and 218 of the Constitution.
The prime minister has nominated three names each for the two vacant ECP seats in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
For Punjab, the prime minister nominated Ahsan Mehboob, a retired BS-22 officer from the Police Service; Raja Aamir Khan, a Supreme Court of Pakistan advocate; and Syed Pervaiz Abbas, a retired BS-22 officer from Pakistan Administrative Service.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PM recommended Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan, Faridullah Khan, a retired BS-22 officer from Pakistan Administrative Service, and senior advocate Muzammil Khan.
