ISLAMABAD, Jan 23: A panel of lawyers, which met here on Wednesday to consider the Islamabad Long March Declaration signed by the government with Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri last week, ruled out reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan before completion of its constitutional term.

Law Minister Farooq H. Naek and S.M. Zafar, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Abdul Latif Afridi, Dr Khalid Ranjha, Dr Farogh Naseem and Prof Humayun Ehsan attended the meeting.

Mr Naek will now apprise Dr Qadri during a meeting in Lahore on Jan 27 about the outcome of his discussion with the lawyers’ panel.

When contacted, Mr Naek, who was part of the government team that had negotiated with Dr Qadri, said he would fulfil his commitment and visit the TMQ secretariat in Lahore on Jan 27 and apprise Dr Qadri about the legal and constitutional position on the ECP’s reconstitution.

The minister said the lawyers’ panel would meet Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim on Thursday and discuss the matter with him.

He said the lawyers were unanimous that neither the CEC nor any of ECP members could be removed from office through an executive order or at the government’s discretion.

“Article 218 of the Constitution provides for the composition of a permanent election commission for the purpose of holding elections to both houses of parliament and the provincial assemblies. The permanent composition of the ECP implies that it cannot be dissolved by any legislative or executive action,” he said.

The minister said Article 215 set the tenure of the CEC and ECP members at five years and the process for their removal was prescribed in Article 209.

Mr Naek said the Constitution envisaged security of the CEC’s tenure which could not be taken away without an amendment to the statute which might itself be “controversial and unattainable”.