PESHAWAR: Defence Minister Pervez Khattak said on Sunday that appointment of the chief election commissioner and members of the commission were likely to be finalised by Wednesday (Dec 11).

Talking to the media at Nowshera, he said the government had contacted its coalition partners and the opposition to discuss the appointments.

The office of the chief election commissioner is vacant since retired Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan completed his tenure on Dec 6.

“I am sure the matter will be resolved by Wednesday,” Mr Khattak said. The government had yet to discuss the extension of chief of the army staff with the opposition, he added. He said the government would take up the matter with the opposition after the Supreme Court released its detailed judgement.

The defence minister ruled out an in-house change and insisted that Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete his five-year tenure. He admitted that some members of the PTI had grievances against the prime minister, but “it does not mean that they will revolt against him”.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2019