ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar on Monday took sou moto notice of temporary ban imposed by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on appointments in the public institutions. The court issued notice to secretary ECP demanding explanation of imposing a ban on recruitment. A three-member bench headed by CJP along with Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan will be hearing the sou moto case on Tuesday. Earlier, ECP had issued a statement pertaining to the matter of freezing appointments made by federal, provincial and local governments to guarantee transparency in the upcoming general elections. The statement assured that there will be no ban on hiring by the federal and provincial public service commissions. The statement further said that all the development schemes will be put to a halt that had been taken up after April 1. The schemes consist of supply of gas and water, construction and carpeting of roads. The ECP statement claimed that the development schemes implementation have been halted so that the funds are not misused. ECP also banned transfer of pre-allocated funds to other heads. Previously, ECP had censured public office-holders for utilizing peoples’ tax money for self-projection before the general elections to lure in voters.