LAHORE, July 7: Senator S.M. Zafar, who is also a former law minister, says there is no obligation under the Constitution, the Election Order 2002 and the People's Representation Act for a minister to resign before taking part in an election.

However, he said while talking to Dawn on Wednesday that the Election Commission could give a code of conduct on the issue. Mr Zafar was asked about the eligibility of Shaukat Aziz to take part in the by election on two National Assembly seats while retaining his cabinet post.

Opposition parties are insisting that under the Election Order 2002, Mr Aziz is required to quit as minister before contesting the election. He said he had studied the matter in detail and concluded that the Constitution, the Election Order 2002 or the People's Representation Act did not make it obligatory for a minister to resign from the cabinet before contesting any election.

He said the matter pertained to a code of conduct which the Election Commission could give. He urged the commission to hold a meeting to decide the controversy.