Editorial
How can the CareTaker Government Stop Political Gatherings?
The objective of the caretaker government in Pakistan is to confirm the neutrality of the Government supervising elections and diminish the scope for abuse or abuse of power and state aid in election campaigns. After the National Assembly is dissolved, the President appoints a neutral caretaker cabinet to handle the conduct of elections and serve until the elected government is formed. Likewise, at the provincial level, the Governor appoints a caretaker cabinet for the Province ahead of Provincial Assembly Elections. The sole purpose of the caretaker government is to hold fair and transparent elections. The superior courts in Pakistan have sentenced that caretaker governments must be neutral to ensure timely and transparent elections.
Caretaker cabinet members possess the same powers and responsibilities as the elected Prime Minister, Chief Minister, and Ministers. The caretaker Prime Minister and Provincial Chief Ministers have full authority to appoint persons of their choice to critical positions in the bureaucracy.
The only legal restriction on the caretaker regime is that the caretaker Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, Ministers, their spouses and children are ineligible to compete in the election conducted under the caretaker government. There are no legal qualifications for appointment, but it is understood that those appointed to the positions should be impartial and have no known collaboration with any political party.
The 18th and 20th Amendments to the Constitution have caused the selection of the caretaker Prime Minister, Chief Minister and Federal and Provincial Ministers to be more consultative and transparent. The President is required to appoint a caretaker Prime Minister in consultation with the incumbent Prime Minster and the Leader of the Opposition. The President appoints caretaker Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister; consultation between the Prime Minister and the Opposition is not required. The same is true for the Provincial caretaker cabinet.
Suppose the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition cannot agree on a caretaker Prime Minister within three days of the dissolution of the NA. In that case, they will each forward two names to a Parliamentary Committee tasked with making the decision. If established, the Committee would be comprised of eight members of the outgoing NA and Senate with equal representation from the Government and the Opposition. The members of the Committee will be nominated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, respectively. The Committee must finalize their decision within three days. The same basic procedure is used for appointing a caretaker Chief Minister by the Governor of a Province; however, the Committee would be made up of six members rather than eight. If fewer than five members of the Opposition in the Parliament or fewer than four in a Provincial Assembly, they would all be members of the Committee.
Suppose the Committee also needs to agree on one of the four options sent by the Prime Minister/Chief Minister and Opposition Leader. In that case, the names are referred to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which will make the final decision within two days.
During the appointment process, the incumbent Prime Minster/Chief Minister continues in their position until the caretaker replacement is appointed.
After this rigorous process, the caretaker governments in Punjab and KPK were established. Ostensibly, the process opted; however, it had multiple deceptions. The choice of the bureaucracy in Punjab could have been more neutral. The personal staff officer of the Prime Minister was posted as principal secretary of the caretaker chief minister of Punjab. Furthermore, the federal government controlled the affairs of the Province of Punjab through their federal civil servants by appointing a chief secretary and IG. Despite all these biased appointments, the caretaker government was expected to hold fair and transparent elections. Then, holding political processions and rallies is the fundamental right of the political parties. Article 16 of the Constitution provides all citizens with the fundamental freedom of assembly. Furthermore, August Supreme Court has already decided to hold the general elections in Punjab and KPK, with the President of Pakistan has announced 30th April as the polling date in Punjab.
Under these circumstances, how can the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore and Additional Chief Secretary of Home Department impose Section 144 of CRPC? It is a naked violation of the fundamental right of the people. Then, political parties are represented through people empowerment and denying this inherent democratic process is unconstitutional and administratively immoral. However, the genuine question is, under what law does a caretaker government stop a political procession or impose section 144 when the purpose of the caretaker government is to hold elections?
The actions of the Punjab caretaker government are not neutral. Their sole purpose is to conduct elections within 90 days. Their whole tenure is 90 days. How can they work on substantive and developmental work? How can they spend or force sponsors to spend so much money on Jashn e Barahan and other festivals? Under what law can they make substantive policy decisions? The use of force at the PTI political rally is unfortunate and a violation of the constitutional mandate of a caretaker government. It is essential for the rule of the Constitution and the preservation of democracy that caretaker governments should only focus on their only role of holding fair and transparent elections and dispensing a neutral administration.
Lastly, the Election Commission must also ensure that caretaker governments perform their constitutional role. Yes, there are de-facto elements in the power structures in Pakistan. But, it does not mean that the democratic, constitutional and legal rights of the political parties and the public are not ensured. The nepotism of a caretaker government is unfortunate. There is no way the caretaker government in Punjab trespasses its constitutional role and denies the fundamental rights of the political parties to hold assemblies and processions. https://republicpolicy.com/care-taker-governments-in-punjab-and-kpk-are-violating-constitutional-roles/
