ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Jan 14 over variations in his statement of assets and liabilities.

Sources told Dawn that the ECP had issued a notice to Mr Bhutto-Zardari pointing out variations in his statement of assets, but he could not give a satisfactory reply.

“Now the matter will be taken up by a bench of the commission comprising acting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) retired justice Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi and member from KP retired justice Irshad Qaisar,” an ECP official told Dawn.

The ECP decision has caused many to wonder if the non-functional commission can do it. The law had been amended to provide for the constitution of a two-member bench but it is to be formed by the CEC with a limited mandate.

Section 6 (3) of the Elections Act 2017 in its original form reads: “The Commissioner shall constitute benches comprising three or more members of the Commission to hear and decide complaints, applications, petitions or appeals filed before it under this Act.”

Under an amendment made in March last year, the word ‘three’ has been replaced with ‘two’.

Sources in the ECP said that a summary to this effect had been moved by the commission as it faced problems due to this restrictive provision during the delimitation process.

Section 6(1) of the Elections Act reads: “The Commission may authorise the Commissioner or any of its members or any of the officers of the Commission to exercise and perform any of its powers and functions under this Act”, but a senior ECP official said that senior lawyers consulted by the commission were of the view that the benches comprising officers of the commission if formed while invoking the section would not be able to carry out judicial work.

When contacted, PPP chairman’s spokesman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the notice had not yet been received. “We came to know about it only through media.”

He said the lawyers would examine the notice when it is received and it will be responded accordingly.

Mr Khokhar said the foreign funding case against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was pending before the ECP for a long time, while the PPP leadership was being treated differently. “The bias appears to be floating on the surface,” he remarked.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2020