ISLAMABAD: The Pak­i­­stan Peoples Party-Parl­i­amentarians and the Muttahida Qaumi Mov­­­­­ement-Pakistan (MQ­M-P) are among the 284 political parties delisted by the Election Commission of Pakistan for their failure to meet requirements of the Elections Act, 2017.

The aggrieved political parties under the law can file an appeal with the Supreme Court within 90 days.

The ECP, after the passage of the law by parliament, had asked political parties to submit Rs200,000 as enlistment fee, besides submitting lists along with computerised nat­ional identity cards of 2,000 members each, a mandatory requirement under section 202 of the Act, within two months.

After the expiry of the deadline, the commission issued show-cause notices to the political parties that had failed to meet the legal requirement.

Only 68 political parties could meet the requirement.

Most of the political parties delisted by the ECP have been dormant for years and founders of many of them have already expired.

The delisted political parties include Pakistan Mus­lim League (Fun­ctional) and several others. Many little known factions of the PML were also among the delisted parties.

These were: PML-Hus­saini Pakistan, PML-Muttahida, PML-Qas­im, PML-Qayyum, PM­L-Safdar, PML-Haqiqi, PML-Dem­ocratic and PML-Lik­eminded.

Other parties include Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-i-Pakistan (S), JUI-Nazriati, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP), JUP-N, JUP-Quaid-i-Azam and JUP-Imam Noorani.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2018