ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it will take action against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah if appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is not made by December 5.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk was hearing the case pertaining to the appointment of a new CEC in Islamabad on Tuesday.
During the course of hearing, the attorney general Salman Butt told the apex court that the prime minister and the opposition leader held a meeting on Monday on the matter.
The attorney general said that a lot of progress has been made on appointment of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) head and expressed the hope that the matter will be resolved till December 5.
Later, the court adjourned the hearing of case till December 8.
On Monday, the apex court had directed the attorney general to provide assurance to the apex court by Tuesday that the CEC appointment would be made before the court’s December 5 deadline expires.
The prime minister and the opposition leader held a meeting in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the appointment of the CEC; however, they could not reach a consensus on a name for the post.
Talking to media after the meeting, Khursheed Shay said that he would hold another meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday, hoping that they would able to decide the name of the new ECP head by December 5.
The post of the CEC has been vacant since August last year as Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim voluntarily resigned at that time from the post.
