MUZAFFARABAD, June 21: The AJK Election Commission on Tuesday sent a list of more than 60 government officials, including a head of a department, to the chief secretary for suspending them for alleged violation of election laws and the code of conduct.

However, the move was held in abeyance reportedly until Wednesday after the chief secretary maintained that the chief election commissioner (CEC) was himself empowered to take this step, highly placed sources told Dawn.

According to AJK Legislative Assembly Election Ordinance 1970, the CEC “may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend a government official if he refuses to perform duties or renders assistance as may be required by the CEC in the discharge of his functions, and shall refer such matter to the appropriate authority for taking disciplinary action against such official.”

The same law also stipulates that if a government official misuses his official position to influence the result of elections he is “guilty of offence, punishable with the imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to Rs1,000, or with both”.

Referring to these provisos, Election Commission Secretary Mohammad Younas Mughal had stated in a letter (to the chief secretary) that they had received reports from various sources that some government servants were infringing election laws and the code of conduct by misusing their official positions and resources in favour or opposition of some candidates.

Prominent among officials, according to a list obtained by Dawn, were Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) department Director General Arshad Mahmood Abbasi and Assistant Director Shabbir Abbasi and tehsildar Muzaffarabad Anjum Farooq Abbasi.

Opposition Peoples Party and PML-N candidates from Muzaffarabad city have been crying foul.

The rest of officials mentioned in the list include lecturers, teachers, and officials of Legislative Assembly, public works, forests, and tourism departments.

However, sources said, the chief secretary had maintained that it was within the competence of the CEC to suspend such officials.

According to sources, a meeting on Wednesday, attended by the CEC and the chief secretary, will take up the issue of suspending the 60 officials. — Tariq Naqash