ISLAMABAD – Sikandar Sultan Raja will be appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
A consensus decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of the parliamentary committee on appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and the members of the Election Commission in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The meeting also agreed to appoint Nisar Durrani as member of Election Commission from Sindh and Shah Muhammad Jatoi as its member from Balochistan.
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said it is a matter of great satisfaction that the parliament settled the matter with consensus. She said the names will now be forwarded to the Prime Minister.
Sikandar Sultan Raja: Education
Raja was born in a village in District Sargodha to a father who was an officer in the Pakistan Army.
He was schooled at the Government High School Bhera and later went to the Cadet College Hasan Abdal for further education.
Raja was an exceptional student who went on to obtain an MBBS degree from the prestigious King Edward Medical College in Lahore. In addition to that, Raja also earned a degree in law from the Punjab University and passed his Central Superior Services (CSS) Exam in 1987.
Sikandar Sultan Raja Life as an officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service
After passing his CSS exams, Raja was posted as assistant commissioner Islamabad.
Throughout his career, he held many important positions, including the post of deputy commissioner Islamabad. Raja was also posted as director-general Excise & Taxation Punjab, provincial secretary Communications & Works Punjab, provincial secretary Services & General Administration Punjab, and director-general Immigration & Passports in the federal government.
The new CEC also served as chief secretary Gilgit Baltistan (GB), CS Azad Kashmir (AJK), and federal secretary Petroleum & Natural Resources, and recently retired as secretary of Pakistan Railways.
Political contacts with PML-N, JUI-F
Raja is the son-in-law of Saeed Mehdi, a former principal secretary of Nawaz Sharif. When Sharif’s government was ousted in 1999, Mehdi was imprisoned along with him.
According to a report published in The News earlier this month, Raja used to visit PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in prison when he would go there to visit his father in the year 2000.
Credible sources also told the publication that before the government proposed his name for the CEC slot, Raja had established contacts with Nawaz Sharif for support, which was forthcoming.
He also activated his communication channels with JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman, who also approved his name.
The PML-N was then tasked with lobbying other opposition parties for the approval of his name for the position.
