ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has received a list of politicians including stalwarts of the main political parties who failed to pay their utility bills.

According to the list, hundreds of MNAs and Senators belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan People’s Party, the Awami National Party, the Jamiat Ulema-I-Islam, The Muttahida Qaumi Movement and others failed to pay their telephone and electricity bills.

As many as 284 members parliamentarians failed to pay their telephone bills while IESCO has provided the electoral body of over 360 names of the parliamentarians who didn’t pay their powers bills.

Prominent among the defaulters of utility bills include Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Bushra Rehman, Anwar Alam Khan, Abdul Qadir Patel, Manzoor Watto, Firdous Ashiq Awan , Faisal Karim Kundi, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Hina Rabbani Khar, Asfand Yar Wali Khan, Rehman Malik, Farooq Sattar, Pervez Elahi and others.

Disqualification turned as qualification

What a shame even to name! All those who are just in hundreds have been declared as defaulters for not paying utility bills and all such persons are none but star studded very important persons who are ministers, senators, MNAs, MPAs, politicians or otherwise prominent personalities.

As a truly patriotic Pakistani I will strongly suggest that all those who as per the list provided to Election Commission of Pakistan have not paid telephone and electricity bills must be barred not only in this election but permanently even if they pay the money now for the very simple reason that this has been going on for many months and they should have paid and settled their accounts since long rather than waiting till today when the names have been made public. To me this is nothing but blatant attempt on their part to see if they can still continue succeed in not getting themselves highlighted and if at all they had any self respect within themselves they had not defaulted in 1st instance or at least paid off months and weeks before but keeping silent instead proves that they wanted to deprive our national exchequer to get the money so they ought to be punished now.

Even from morality point of view they have lost the ground. It is very basic principle of morality to pay back whatever is due whether to a person or to an organization. Crude example is that when someone greets someone then the other person is morally obliged to reciprocate the greetings and that is why assalam o alikum is always replied as waalaikum us salam. Once some has made a telephone call whether local or within the country it is quite but natural on the part of that person that he must pay for it even without being asked for payment unless the facility is free which is not so in my beloved Pakistan though local calls are free in Kuwait. He is not a good person from any set of imagination who keeps mum and not paying telephone bill. Same is the case with electricity which is not free in any country including Kuwait so how and why anyone who is using electricity is not paying electricity bills though legally speaking he is obliged to pay the bills. Moreover even a simple brute person knows it very well that it is air and sunshine which are divine gifts for us and therefore none is to pay using them but it is not applicable to electricity and telephone in any case so why and how people use enjoy these facilities without making any payment thereof.

This is the very right and ripe time that Justice ® Fakhro Bhai as he is often mentioned must not compromise on principles and instead should ensure that they are disqualified from being a parliamentarian both at national and provincial level. Supreme Court of Pakistan had already declared them as ineligible which means that SP has strengthened ECP so when it has the live then it should not relax at all and it must stick to its guns. Public also demands that these defaulters must not be allowed to contest elections and if despite this all they succeed in getting elected then it will be complete failure on the part of ECP which will not get another chance to penalize them which will be very much disastrous for the country as a whole if ECP truly realizes.

What character they have, may I dare to ask but to whom? All those names who have been mentioned are quite respectable otherwise and I really wonder how and why the defaulted in 1st instance. Those who had been

 members of our legislative system whether at national or

 provincial level must have realized that the nation has reposed blind confidence in them to build our nation and make laws where all those who break any law must be punished accordingly so how could they introduce some legislation when they themselves are at fault. Now when their photos and names have been flashed on television screens and newspapers etc, I am sure they had not been honored in any case if not disgraced.

Worst comes to worst if ECP does not bar them and these defaulters succeed in getting their nominations approved then I will very strongly suggest that the voters who know that they defaulted and did not pay utilities bills then the voters should not vote for them unless voters also believe in that disqualification has become qualification in Pakistan.

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi