A Pakistani court has barred election officials from asking irrelevant or intrusive questions while scrutinising nomination papers after days of televised proceedings during which candidates were asked to recite Quranic verses and to reveal intimate details.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of the lahore High Court issued the order yesterday evening following widespread criticism of the questioning of candidates by Returning Officers, who are mostly judges of lower courts deputed to assist election authorities.
In his order, Shah directed Returning Officers to “immediately refrain from asking random intrusive and inquisitive questions that have no nexus with information given in the nomination papers or do not arise from the objections raised by the other side”.
During proceedings conducted in front of TV cameras, the RO had asked candidates to prove their Islamic credentials by reciting Quranic verses or by explaining the method for offering prayers. In one instance, an official asked a candidate how he “did justice” to his two wives while another official asked a candidate from a religious party to explain the procedure for bathing a body before burial. Such questioning of candidates has been strongly criticised by politicians and civil society groups after it was given widespread coverage by the media.