PTI contests the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to postpone polling in SC.
The petition claims that the move “violates both the Constitution and the order of the apex court.”
hallenging the EC’s decision to postpone voting in Punjab.
The party contended that the ECP’s action “violates the Constitution and the apex court order.”
Without any opposition, the Supreme Court registrar office assigned the PTI plea a case number.
According to the PTI appeal, the party has gone to the SC because “the matter concerned in the petition is of public importance with regard to enforcement of fundamental rights of the millions of people of Pakistan, notably the people of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).”
In a stunning turn of events, the electoral watchdog postponed the election in Punjab till October 8 on the grounds that it could not ensure free and fair voting on April 30.
A number of government agencies and officials voiced their opposition to the elections being held in Punjab, including the police, the finance minister, the defense minister, the interior minister, the chief secretary of Punjab, and others.
A new election timetable would be released in due course, therefore the ECP retracted its notification on the elections in Punjab and pushed back the date of voting for the province parliament to October 8.
Zafar Ali Shah, a former leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), filed a separate constitutional suit in which he said that the Election Commission’s notification from March 22 was unlawful. Zafar asked the Supreme Court to punish Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Rana Sanaullah, and caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi for defying the court’s order under Article 6.
Zafar ordered the Election Commission to hold the poll on April 30 as planned but also demanded the removal of the top election commissioner.
Lawyer GM Chaudhry also filed a third contempt of court petition with the Supreme Court, claiming that Prime Minister Shehbaz, the CEC, and the caretaker CM had all failed to do their jobs.
As monies are being distributed for development projects, Chaudhry claims that the prime minister and CM Naqvi are releasing funds for vested interests.
The petitioner also brought up the prime minister’s and federal ministers’ utterances that hinted at postponing the elections.
Chaudhry pleaded for severe punishment for those responsible for disobeying the Supreme Court’s rulings.
Sheikh Rashid, leader of the Awami Muslim League, had his lawyer, Azhar Siddique, file a fourth contempt of court petition before the Supreme Court on his behalf.
The urgent matter of the postponement of elections for the Punjab and K-P assemblies was brought to the attention of the SC in a constitutional petition, and the ECP’s recent announcement that polls would be held on October 8 was also challenged.
The petitioners were PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, K-P Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, and Punjab Assembly Speaker Muhammad Sibtain Khan.
The petition refers to the Supreme Court orders granted to the president and K-P governor on March 1, 2023, directing them to set a date for the elections of the Punjab and K-P assemblies.
Elections were required to take place within 90 days of the dissolution of these assemblies per the Constitution. However, the petitioners argued that this 90-day period had already passed because the Punjab Assembly was dissolved on January 14, 2023, and the K-P Assembly on January 18, 2023.
