Islamabad [Pakistan], December 26 : Following the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) order, President Arif Alvi approved the removal of the advisor to caretaker Prime Minister Ahad Cheema, The Express Tribune reported.
On the instruction of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the caretaker prime minister sent the summary to the President for the removal of Cheema from his post on Monday.
President Alvi approved the removal of Cheema on the advice of the Pakistan PM under Article 48 of the constitution, according to the report.
The approval came in response to a plea filed by advocate Syed Azizuddin Kakakhel, who sought the removal of perceived 'biased' members of the federal cabinet to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections, scheduled for February 8, The Express Tribune reported.
The petition stated, "If the government wants a transparent election, these people should be removed from their positions."
The ECP ruled that Ahad Cheema, who was a part of the previous federal cabinet, should be immediately removed from his current post.
The ECP in a short order issued on Tuesday, said the petitioner's prayer for Cheema to be removed was "reasonable and is accepted" on the basis that the latter was a part of the previous government and could thus "influence the holding of free, fair and transparent elections" if he continued in his post.
The ECP directed that Cheema be removed from his position and ordered the Cabinet Division secretary to immediately issue the notification in this regard.
Meanwhile, advocate Kakakhel, in his petition, also sought the removal of Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar and other cabinet members, including Ahad Cheema, Fawad Hasan Fawad, and former Principal Secretary to the PM, Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, according to The Express Tribune.
The plea stated that the involvement of these individuals in the caretaker government would compromise the transparency of the upcoming elections.
Cheema had also served as a special assistant in the previous PML-N-led government, Dawn reported, adding that he was, perhaps, the only exception who was part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government and also a member in interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar's cabinet.
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