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ELECTIONS POSTPONED AS ECP ANNOUNCES DELIMITATION SCHEDULE
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Friday, 18 August, 2023 I 30 Muharram, 1445
ECP BEGINS LEGAL CONSULTATION FOR CONSTITUENCY DELIMITATION, AFTER CCI ENDORSED 7TH DIGITAL CENSUS
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ISLAMABAD
LEGAL EXPERTS OPINE SUPREME COURT MAY PLAY A ROLE IN ORCHESTRATING NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS
STAFF REPORT
ONFIRMING the reports that the next general elections would be delayed, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced its decision to complete the process of delimitation exercise on the basis of new digital census. According to the schedule announced through a notification, the date for the final publication of the delimitation is December 12, 2023. This shows that elections will not take place within the 90-day constitutional period. “In pursuance of Article 51 of the Constitution and Section 17(2) of the Election Act of 2017, the ECP has approved the schedule for carrying out delimitation of the constituencies afresh in accordance with official results of 7th population and Housing Census-2023,” it reads. With ECP’s decision to conduct delimitation exercise on the basis of new digital census, the general elections cannot take place by November. Earlier, polls were also not held within the 90-day period in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces and the interim setup continues in both the provinces till now. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan had dissolved the assemblies hoping that it would force the then federal government to go for snap polls. However, this did not happen. The population census 2023 was approved just days before the previous government’s term concluded. Sources indicated that the ECP had initiated informal discussions with legal experts regarding the process of con-
stituency delimitation, following the Council of Common Interest’s (CCI) endorsement of the seventh digital census on August 5. Pertinently, Article 51(5) of the Constitution and Section 17 (2) of the Elec-
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tions Act, 2017 stipulate the requirement for finalised and published census data for delineating constituencies. Once the census data is officially released, the ECP was obligated to initiate the delimitation procedure.
A senior ECP official elucidated that there is no immediate necessity to announce the date for general elections, as a window until September 12 is available. Another official noted that the ECP could potentially extend this date until September 20. Legal experts posit that the Supreme Court may play a role in orchestrating the next general elections. The actions of the upcoming Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, could significantly influence the electoral landscape. These experts suggested that the ECP should proactively approach the Supreme Court, seeking guidance on conducting elections within the 90-day timeframe following the digital census approval. A recent judgment by Justice Munib Akhtar similarly advocates for the ECP to seek relief from the top court if executive authorities hinder the commission from fulfilling its constitutional duty under Article 220—ensuring fair elections.
PTI, PPP strongly reject ECP’s move of holding fresh delimitation, postponing polls
ISLAMABAD: Two major political parties of the country, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday strongly rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) schedule of holding fresh delimitation, with PTI announcing the party would challenge the decision of the Council of Common Interests before the Supreme Court (SC) today (Friday). In a strong reaction to the ECP’s move of fresh delimitation, the PTI spokesperson said that the ECP’s schedule of redrawing constituencies was based on malicious intent and a clear deviation from the Constitution. He said that in the case of premature dissolution of the National Assembly, the ECP was constitutionally bound to
Both main accused in Jaranwala rampage now in CTD custody: Naqvi LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Moshin Naqvi on Thursday said that “both main accused” in yesterday’s Jaranwala rampage — when a mob torched several churches, ransacked Christian homes and vandalised a graveyard — were now in the custody of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). On Wednesday, a violent mob of hundreds had ransacked and torched several churches while also attacking the residences of members of the Christian community. A Christian cemetery and the office of the local assistant commissioner were also vandalised. The incident had led the Punjab government to call in Rangers while 3,000 police personnel from various police units, including the Elite Force, had been deployed as well. As per police and local sources, the violence erupted after some locals alleged that several desecrated pages of the Holy Quran had been found near a house at Cinema Chowk in Jaranwala, where two Christian brothers resided. The Punjab government had ordered the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the incident, in line with directives issued by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq. Separately, in a statement issued late on Wednesday night, Punjab police said it had made over 100 arrests while the Jaranwala police booked over 600 people in two terror cases.
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hold elections within stipulated 90 days. PTI spokesperson said that the ECP’s schedule was a criminal attempt to prolong the tenure of the caretaker government in sheer violation of the constitution. He stated that in the wake of violating the SC’s order on holding elections in Punjab and Pakhtunkhwa and breaching the constitution, the ECP was once again resorted to violating the constitution to delay the polls unlawfully and unconstitutionally. PTI spokesperson went on to say that in the light of the decision of the CCI, the redrawing the constituencies could not be used as an excuse and justification to escape from the elections.
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Jaranwala incident ‘extremely tragic and totally intolerable’: Gen Asim Munir RAWALPINDI
STAFF REPORT
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on Thursday termed the Jaranwala incident “extremely tragic and totally intolerable”, the military said in a statement. “There is no space for such incidents of intolerance and extreme behaviour by any segment of society against anyone, particularly against minorities,” COAS Gen Asim Munir was quoted as saying by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The chief of army staff said this while addressing the participants of the yearly ISPR Internship Programme being attended by over 370 students from various universities across Pakistan. A day earlier, a mob vandalised and torched several churches and scores of houses after two men living there were accused of desecrating the Holy
Quran, police and witnesses said. The attack took place in Jaranwala in the industrial district of Faisalabad on Wednesday, and continued for more than 10 hours without any intervention by police who were at the scene, residents and community leaders said. Police denied the accusation, saying security forces had prevented an even worse situation. The rioters were demanding that the two accused men, who had fled their homes, be handed over to them. Residents said thousands of people led by local clerics were carrying iron rods, sticks, knives and daggers during the rioting. A provincial government statement said paramilitary troops were deployed to help police control the situation. Gen Asim Munir said that all citizens of Pakistan are equal amongst each other irrespective of religion, gender, caste or creed. He emphasised that no one will be al-
lowed to take the law into their own hands and those culpable of committing such crimes will be brought before the court of justice. While addressing the participants, the army chief emphasised the role of youth towards national development. “Youth is future of Pakistan, which can contribute immensely towards peace, progress and prosperity of the country,” he added. The army chief also highlighted the efforts of inimical forces towards creating and fomenting fissures, intolerance, mistrust and violent behaviour among the people to spread anarchy and unrest in the country. “It’s imperative for the youth to discern the difference between truth, half-truth, lies, misinformation and disinformation,” the COAS remarked. In the end, the army chief appreciated the young internees for successfully completing the programme.
Caretaker federal cabinet sworn in at Aiwan-e-Sadr ISLAMABAD
MIAN ABRAR
A 19-member interim cabinet was sworn in on Thursday at a ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad as President Arif Alvi administered the oath to the federal cabinet. According to a document, 16 federal ministers, 6 special advisers and 3 advisers are part of the new cabinet. The ceremony started with the national anthem before the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and was attended by Intermin Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, politicians and prominent figures from all walks of life. According to the notification, Senator Sarfaraz Bugti has been given the charge of Ministry of Interior while he would also look after Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Narcotics Control. Veteran diplomat Jalil Abbas Jilani will handle Ministry of Foreign Affairs while former Governor State Bank of Pakistan Shamshad Akhtar has been given the charge of Ministry of Finance and Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics & Privatisation. Senior anchorperson and journalist Murtaza Solangi will take charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting while Lt General (retd) Anwar Ali Hyder will take up affairs of Ministry of Defence Production & Aviation. Sami Saeed has been entrusted with the Ministry of Planning & Development while Chairman Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) Shahid Ashraf Tarar who resigned from his office the same day, was given charge of Ministry of Communication, Railways, Postal Services, Ports & Maritime Affairs. Mr Ahmad Irfan Aslam has been appointed Minister for Law and Justice, National Resources, Climate Change and Water Resources while Mr Muhammad Ali would take up the affairs of Ministry of Energy and Power, Petroleum. Mr Gohar Ejaz would take up Ministries of Commerce, Textile, Industries & Production while outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s confidant Umar Saif has been given task of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and Science and Technology. Mr Nadeem Jan has been given Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Control while Khalil George will look after the affairs of Ministry of Human Rights. Mr Aneeq Ahmad will look after Ministry of Religious Affairs, Hajj & Interfaith Harmony while Jamal Shah would handle the affairs of National Heritage and Culture. Mr Madad Ali Sindhi would take over Ministry of Federal Education, National Harmony & Youth Affairs. Among advisers to PM, Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Hussain Khan would look after Aviation; while Mr Ahad Khan Cheema would oversee establishment and Mr Waqar Masood Khan Finance. Special Advisors include Mushaal Hussain Malick who would oversee Human Rights and Women Empowerment while Jawad Sohrab Malik would tackle Overseas and Vice Admiral (retd) Iftikhar Rao Maritime Affairs. Wasih Shah would look after Tourism while Dr Jehanzeb Khan would handle Govt Effectiveness and SIFC while Syeda Arifa Zehra would deal with Education and National Harmony Affairs.
Continued losses, provincialisation of DISCOs to go to caretaker cabinet
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COMPANIES HAVE SUFFERED AGGREGATE TECHNICAL & COMMERCIAL LOSSES OF MORE THAN RS292BN IN DEPTH PROFIT AHMAD AHMADANI
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-Ul-Haq Kakar has brought the important matter of transfer of ownership and control of power distribution companies (DISCOs) from the federal government to provincial governments before cabinet. On the very day that the new caretaker cabinet took oath, the PM made this a toppriority issue. There are currently ten Distribution Companies (DISCOs) under the administrative control of Ministry of Energy (Power Division). Recovery against the electricity bills by DISCOs has been a consistent challenge for a long time and it has regularly been felt that DISCOs cannot pursue this task effectively while being administered on a federal level. This has resulted in development of the circular debt which has already swelled up to Rs 2.631 trillion. It is
apprehended that owing to the theft and non-recovery against billing, the circular debt will be on an upward trajectory. The current legal and administrative structure of electricity distribution business entails a pivotal role of the provincial governments including but not limited to enforcement through police, coordination through district administration and legal role of the provincial departments in recovery against the billing including recovery of the receivables from the provincial government. The provincial government does not lend the requisite support to these DISCOs in collection of the electricity bills from the defaulters viewing this function purely as federal subject. Whereas, the fact is that performance of DISCOs can not improve without active support of the provincial governments. Earlier, the former Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Defence on transfer of DISCOs to provinces. According to sources, the power division has proposed that the federal govern-
ment may accord its in-principle approval/concurrence as per Schedule-II of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of Common Interest, 2010 required for placement of the summary to CCI as per recommendations of the committee for transfer of ownership of these DISCOs to the provincial governments based on subsequent agreement between the respective provinces may be governed under the draft policy which may also be approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI). Available documents transpire that all distribution companies are beset by serious governance and commercial challenges. Efforts to improve performance through better corporate management, private sector participation and greater oversight by the Ministry of Energy have so far not yielded the desired outcomes. The situation deteriorates, on the contrary. The companies have suffered Aggregate Technical & Commercial Losses of more than Rs 292 billion. These can be attributed to a range of factors-technical infrastructure issues, theft and illegal connections, non-technical losses related to billing and revenue collection, inaccurate
metering, voltage fluctuations and power quality issues, operational inefficiencies, and inadequate investment and maintenance. According to documents, the federal government has provided subsidies of Rs 596 billion and Rs 535 billion in FY 2022 and FY 2023 respectively to the power sector to ensure affordable electricity prices for consumers. Despite these subsidies, the tariffs are unsustainably high. The inter-corporate circular debt also piles up and presently stands at Rs 2631 billion. The subsidies have strained government’s finances and hampered the development and maintenance of power infrastructure. Because of such factors, the federal government has expressed intentions to transfer the ownership and control of DISCOs to the respective provincial governments, subject to provincial concurrence. The rationale is that provincial governments are better positioned to manage the distribution companies, given their presence and resources in the field. Provincial governments can more effectively address issues of electricity theft and recovery of outstanding dues due to their control on local admin-
istration and police. Additionally, provincializing DISCOs would decentralize power and decision-making in the electricity sector to enhance local governance, customer care and accountability. As per documents, the provincial government can play a crucial role in the management and administration of the distribution companies. Some areas are: Policy input and implementation: While the overall policy framework for the electricity sector would be determined at the CCI (federal-provincial) level, the provincial governments will have the autonomy to implement measures specific to their jurisdiction. This will allow them to address local challenges and promote sustainable and efficient electricity distribution. Local Administration and Oversight: Provincial governments will have the authority to oversee distribution companies within their respective jurisdiction, also through local administration. This will include monitoring operations, ensuring compliance with regulations, and addressing issues specific to the local context.
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