After the announcement made by President General Pervez Musharraf last week to hold the elections in January 2008, the Election Commission was also advised to formulate Code of Conduct and announce exact date for holding elections of national and provincial assemblies.
For this purpose, the Commission has reportedly invited all the major political parties to put their suggestions aimed at formulating new Code of Ethic regarding the general elections.
However, some political parties, including PML(N), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), and other parties have decided not to attend the meeting of what they termed a 'partial and powerless Election Commission'.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a major component of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) has decided to send its representative in the meeting.
Senator Latif Khosa, chief of the Election Cell of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) when contacted for comments, questioned the legality and credibility of the Election Commission under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) along with absence of its two members from Sindh and NWFP, who have resigned already protesting the proclamation of emergency.
He said the Election Commission has totally failed to exercise its legal and constitutional functions as the PPP has many times reminded it about publishing of unethical ads in newspapers against its chairperson. PML (N) Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal categorically rejected the offer of the ECP to attend its meeting under PCO.
"How can one attend a meaningless exercise as there is no Constitution, no rule of law, and no governance in the country", he remarked. He also said that the party in consultation with other components of APDM would hammer out a future line of action.
ANP Secretary Information Zahid Khan also made it clear that his party would not attend the meeting of ECP as it has not yet received any invitation in this regard. He also said the ANP would follow the joint decision to be taken at the meeting of APDM.
APDM MEETING: The All Partied Democratic Movement (APDM) has convened its meeting in Islamabad on Monday (today) along with other leadership. The meeting would be attended by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman and Qazi Hussain Ahmed.