ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentarian and opposition leader Khursheed Shah on Wednesday objected to the compulsion of appointing a Supreme Court judge as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and said a bureaucrat or a politician could also be made responsible for the office.

Shah was talking to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif via telephone and the two discussed the matter of appointment of the CEC with the apex court directing that a decision be finalised by Oct 28.

The opposition leader and the prime minister agreed to submit a response in the Supreme Court after discussing it with their legal team. Shah said the response will elaborate the reasons for a delay in the appointment.

Also read: SC tells govt to appoint permanent CEC within two weeks

The call from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the opposition leader came against the backdrop of a warning given by the apex court a day before in which it said that the Supreme Court would withdraw its judge — who is currently serving as the interim CEC — if the post was not filled permanently by Oct 28.

"It has been made clear to the attorney general that if the appointment is not made within the timeframe, we will consider withdrawing the Supreme Court judge from the Election Commission of Pakistan," Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk had observed after Tuesday's proceedings.

Currently, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali is serving as acting CEC. Justice Jamali replaced the current chief justice in that office when he was sworn in on July 23 as the third acting CEC in less than a year.

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