ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Peoples Party (PPP) on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Appellate Cou­rt of Gilgit-Baltistan aga­inst the order of the chief court asking party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to leave the region within 72 hours for violating the code of conduct for elections.

“We have filed the petition in the Supreme Appe­llate Court today and it has fixed the hearing on Mon­day (tomorrow),” said Sena­tor Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who is the official spokesperson for the PPP chairman, while talking to Dawn.

Mr Khokhar said that Mr Bhutto-Zardari was the head of the party and, therefore, he could not be barred from running the election campaign in GB.

“How is it possible to ask the head of a major party to stay away from the campaign of the elections which have become all the more important due to regional and international political situation?” Mr Khokhar said while expressing his concern over the decision of the chief court.

Mr Khokhar expressed the hope that they would get “relief” from the Supreme Appellate Court and Mr Bhutto-Zardari would be allowed to run the campaign which was his right as the head of the party.

Mr Khokhar said the PPP had submitted a number of complaints pointing out violations of the election code, but so far the GB Election Commission had remained unmoved.

The PPP senator alleged that the election commission was acting partially which was evident from its silence over recent announcements made by federal ministers in their speeches during the election campaign.

The ministers, he said, were on record and video clips of their speeches were available in which they could be seen promising the people that they would release funds in proportion to number of votes they would poll for their candidates.

“The inaction on the part of the GB’s election commission over such speeches has put a question mark on its credibility,” he said.

Addressing corner meetings in at Darial and Thor, Mr Bhutto-Zardari declared that he would not leave GB before elections and the government would have to arrest him for his refusal. He alleged that the GB chief election commissioner was siding with the “puppet government” and openly speaking against his party.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, PPP’s vice president and parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said that Mr Bhutto-Zardari did not hold any public office and had executive powers in GB so how could he influence the elections.

Ms Rehman said PPP leaders in their campaign were only highlighting their past performances and promises. She expressed the hope that they would get a favourable decision from the Supreme Appellate Court.

A two-member bench of the GB Chief Court comprising Chief Judge Malik Haq Nawaz and Ali Baig on Friday had ordered the PPP chairman, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and GB Ali Amin Gandapur and other public office holders to leave the region within 72 hours for violating the code of conduct for elections.

The order was passed on PPP GB vice president Jamil Ahmed’s petition with the GB Chief Court pleading to expel federal ministers and public office holders from the region till the conclusion of election on Nov 15 for violating the election’s code of conduct.

As the code of conduct under the Election Act of 2017 bars only public office holders, including the president and prime minister, chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, speaker and deputy speaker of an assembly, federal ministers, ministers of state, governors, chief ministers, provincial ministers, advisers to the premier and chief ministers, mayors, chairman, nazim and their deputies, from taking part in an election drive in any manner whatsoever, the court order refers to the definition of public office holder as per the National Accountability (NAB) Ordinance, 1999, that includes members of parliament as well.

The court order says public office holder “has not been defined as who will be placed in the category of public office holder”.

This term has been defined in the NAB ordinance, it mentions while also barring the elected members of assemblies and Senate from running election campaign.

Addressing a press conference, GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan asked the PPP chairman and federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur and other public office holders to leave Gilgit-Baltistan to implement the court order.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2020