Open Letter: Character Pass for Election Candidate by Article 62 and 63 of Constitution

“In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful”

Open Letter
To, Honorable Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim
Election Commission of Pakistan Secretariat, Constitution Avenue, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Subject: Character Pass for Election Candidate by Article 62 and 63 of Constitution

Respected Sir,

You are greatly respected among the political circles and media, and on behalf of this respect, we trust you to be a fair, reliable and practical person.

One does not necessarily have to be a member, follower or fan of Allama Tahi-ul-Qadri, to second his demand of effective implementation of Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution for election candidates. It is an absolutely just demand.

To sum up the character requirements of an election candidate, a person has to be fulfilling the basic tenants of Islam, to be abstaining from major sins and have a clean financial record.

This may be detailed as being a Muslim, performing five times daily prayers, submitting Zakah duly, Fasting in the month of Ramadan and going for Hajj if the preconditions make him/her eligible to do so. The major sins from which one is supposed to abstain include Shirk, murder, Zina, theft, and some others.

However, the deep issue at hand is that majority of our politicians are corrupt as human beings and corrupt as Muslims, and hence they would certainly not want this character scanning procedure in order. They know they will fall out of the election system and hence they are humoring Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri upon the demand of Article 62 and 63, to make it look like the demand of a simpleton, amateur or one having ulterior motives, while it is a very intelligent demand as it roots out corruption at the root level.

Hence, as a citizen wishing to see clean politicians governing our land, I request you to implement the Articles 62 and 63 practically and effectively by character analyzing the election candidates on character clauses which are measureable and undisputed. For example, it is undisputed in Islam that a Muslim has to say the five obligatory prayers in a day. It is measureable as well. The Friday prayers can be testified by the mosque Imam and the daily prayers can be testified by the immediate family. If a Muslim does not fulfill his basic obligation to Allah Almighty, how will he honestly fulfill his obligations to the state and people? If he is not responsible and disciplined in his personal life, how will he run the affairs of the state? I hope this request will be looked into seriously and drafted into an effective, practical pre-election procedure, with lawmakers and religious scholars of various school-of-thought on board. Wsalam.

From,
[Name/Initials], [Location]
[Date]

References: www.ecp.gov.pk, www.election2013.pk, www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/

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Honorable Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim
Election Commission of Pakistan Secretariat, Constitution Avenue,
Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

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