LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday suspended departmental action against two district officers of Sialkot in the light of an inquiry report of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) into alleged rigging committed in the 2021 by-poll of NA-75, Daska.

Justice Shujaat Ali Khan passed the stay order on petitions of Sialkot former deputy commissioner Zeeshan Javed and Daska assistant commissioner Asif Hussain.

The petitioners, through their counsel, contended that the ECP inquiry was beyond the law. The officers said they performed their official duty as per the directions of the ECP. They said the action initiated against them was unlawful.

They asked the court to set aside the impugned action and the inquiry conducted by the ECP.

The judge suspended the impugned proceedings against the petitioners and sought replies from the ECP and the provincial government within a fortnight.

The ECP in its inquiry maintains that the by-poll of NA-75 Sialkot held in Daska on Feb 19, 2021, was not held in a fair, free and transparent manner.

The report concluded that the election officials, police and the local administration failed to play their “designated role in a requisite manner and were found to be puppets in the hands of their unlawful masters during the by-election.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2022