Waheeda Shah case: SC directs ECP to take action without being pressurized

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) resumed the hearing of the suo motu case regarding the slapping of polling staff by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) candidate Waheeda Shah during the recent by-elections in Tando Muhammad Khan.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had earlier disqualified Waheeda Shah from contesting future elections for two years, and ordered holding of by-election afresh in the Tando Muhammad Khan constituency.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry directed the ECP and trial court to take action without being influenced by the Supreme Court.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Husain and Justice Tariq Parvez resumed hearing of the case initiated on the application of Anita Turab, a government official.

The bench, during the last hearing, took serious notice of the applicant's arguments that civil servants were being pushed to the wall by every succeeding government and were treated as personal servants of the influential people in the government.

The bench had clarified that the civil servants had to obey legal orders only as servants of the state and not of any particular government.