MUZAFFARABAD: Decrying the alleged delay in the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) as a “blatant violation” of the interim constitution, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday called for enforcement of the stipulated constitutional process without any further loss of time.

At a joint press conference, PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir and former AJK prime minister and party’s parliamentary leader Raja Farooq Haider maintained that AJK’s democratic system and constitution were hard-won achievements, secured after a prolonged and arduous struggle by their forebears, and they would not allow anyone to trample upon, disregard, or make a mockery of them under any pretext.

“Gilgit-Baltistan, which gained freedom alongside us, is still governed through a presidential ordinance. We, as elected representatives, have a constitutional, moral and political responsibility to uphold democracy and the constitution,” Mr Qadir said.

The AJK Election Commission comprises a CEC, who serves as its chairman, and two members — one of whom is designated as senior member. Under the AJK constitution, the CEC is appointed by the AJK president on the advice of the chairman of the AJK Council — the prime minister of Pakistan —based on nominees proposed by the AJK prime minister in consultation with the leader of the opposition. The two members, however, are appointed solely on the advice of the AJK prime minister.

The commission has been without a chairman since January 14, a day after the completion of the five-year term of retired Justice Abdul Rashid Sulehria as CEC.

While the senior member position also remains vacant, one member — retired secretary Syed Nazeer ul Hassan Gillani — was appointed by Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq on January 11.

On March 27, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a three-member committee, headed by federal minister for law and justice and comprising federal Kashmir affairs secretary and AJK’s chief secretary, to “review the legal scheme and the procedure of appointment of CEC under the provisions of AJK interim constitution and any other ancillary aspects of the issue” and furnish its recommendations within seven days.

The move drew criticism from the AJK chapters of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, who contended that the AJK constitution assigned no role to the federal law minister in the appointment process.

Clarifying the rationale, Mr Qadir disclosed that the committee was a response to his letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his capacity as AJK Council chairman, urging him to fulfill his constitutional responsibility.

“The objections raised by the PPP and the opposition [PTI] are incomprehensible and uncalled for,” he said, asserting that constitutional positions must not remain vacant and that it was the government’s duty to ensure timely appointments — ideally before the retirement of the outgoing officeholders.

“Since the Commission is currently non-functional, the AJK government has no authority to make independent appointments [of members],” he stressed.

Mr Qadir noted that over 26 resignations from local government institutions were pending with the Election Commission, but remained unprocessed due to its dysfunction.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025