President Arif Alvi had appointed two members to ECP to fill vacant posts after seven months. However, the electoral body did not administer oaths to them, claiming that their appointments were unconstitutional. The opposition had also criticized the step taken by the President. Since then, a deadlock has been continuing between the government and the opposition over the matter.
A PML-N member, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, filed a petition in the court challenging their appointment. He argued that the appointment was a direct violation of the Constitution, saying that the notification issued on August 22 should be blacklisted. He said that he wrote a letter to the National Assembly speaker over the matter but didn't get any response.
The petition argued that Prime Minister Imran Khan should suggest new names for the post if the opposition and the government can't agree on the old names. Jahangir Jadoon, who is representing PML-N leader, said that the court has summoned replies from the respondents in another similar case. He claimed that the recommendations of the parliamentary committee were overlooked when the appointment was made. Chief Justice Athar Minallah asked why the Parliament isn't solving this issue.
The court has sought advice of senior lawyers such as Hamid Khan, Khalid Anwar and Makhdoom Ali Khan in the case. On August 22, the government issued a notification that Khalid Mehmood Siddiqui has been appointed as a member ECP from Sindh while Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar has been appointed as a member ECP from Balochistan. The two posts have been lying vacant since January 26, after the retirement of Abdul Ghaffar Soomro and Justice Shakeel Baloch (retd). The law requires the posts to be filled in 45 days. The opposition criticized the government over its failure to reach a consensus on the appointments and unlawfully appointing two members.
Previously, members of the electoral body were appointed by the President but after the 18th Amendment was passed, the appointment process required that the government and opposition need to be on the same page.