Pakistan's SC orders indictment of Defence Secretary

Pakistan's Supreme Court today ordered the indictment of Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retired) Asif Yasin Malik for contempt of court after he failed to deliver on an undertaking about holding polls to cantonment boards.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ruled that Malik, a retired general considered to be close to army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, would be indicted on November 4.
Malik had apologised to the court on October 22 and sought more time to hold the polls to over 40 cantonment boards.
The last elections to the cantonment boards were held in 1998 and the bodies have been without public representation for 14 years, officials said.

The Chief Justice said the responsibility for the delay in holding polls lies with the Defence Secretary and refused to accept his written apology.
"This is unacceptable. This is the court's order, and it should not be taken lightly," the Chief Justice said.

On October 11, the apex court had issued a notice to Malik, asking why action should not be taken against him under the contempt of court law for not holding the elections despite repeated instructions from the court.
The Attorney General, the government's top law officer, too had said that not holding the elections on time was a violation of the court's orders.

The Election Commission, in a letter sent to the government, has expressed its serious apprehensions over possible delays in holding elections in cantonment areas.
After a meeting with cantonment officials and the Defence Secretary, the Election Commission had announced on September 10 that polls in cantonment areas would be held in the first week of November. The poll panel too has expressed its concerns about the handling of the issue by the Defence Secretary.