ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah said here on Tuesday that members of the Election Commission of Pakistan should resign after the election inquiry commission’s report pointed out serious lapses in the way the ECP conducted the 2013 general elections.

Mr Shah, who belongs to PPP, was speaking after presiding over a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee that he heads.

It may be mentioned that the demand was first made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan during his first formal reaction to the commission’s report.


Khurshid Shah cites serious lapses in conduct of 2013 elections pointed out by inquiry commission


“They should quit their job and go home gracefully,” he said. But, he added, “it may not be easy for them to leave such lucrative jobs,” because “each ECP member is drawing not less than Rs 800,000 per month”.

Answering a question about the future of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mr Shah criticised the government for leaving the MQM in isolation.

“The MQM leadership should be engaged in dialogue,” he said, adding that the party should not be excluded from the mainstream politics.

“They are not traitors, they are Pakistanis and patriotic people,” he said. Mr Shah said the MQM leaders might claim to represent ‘Mohajirs’, but in fact their forefathers had settled in Pakistan and were buried here. Therefore, they are not immigrants and have equal ownership of Pakistan like other citizens of the country.

In the past, he said, the establishment had labelled Jam Sadiq as an Indian agent but when he left PPP he was made chief minister of Sindh.

Answering a question about Kalabagh dam, Mr Shah said there were many other dams in the pipeline. “The question of Kalabagh dam could be raised after construction of all these dams.”

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2015

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