ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Tuesday reserved its verdict on suo motu case regarding delay in the announcement of the date of provincial assemblies’ elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A five-member larger bench of the apex court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial concluded the two-day long proceedings in the case. The CJP said that the verdict of the case would be announced on Wednesday (tomorrow) before 11am.
Earlier, the apex court had directed the incumbent government and the PTI to ‘sit together’ and decide on a date for elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab by 4 pm today.
CJP Bandial said that even if the court takes a decision on the matter of poll dates, “the litigation will continue and this will become very costly for the people and the political parties”.
The court passed the instructions after it resumed hearing the matter after a short recess.
However, when the hearing resumed after 4 pm, the counsel for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the ruling party needed additional time for consultations.
Mansoor Usman Awan, representing the party of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in the suo motu case, said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition includes members from Balochistan as well, and that the PML-N must hold internal discussions as well as consult with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the second largest party in the government.
“The court proceedings should continue as more time is needed for consultations,” Awan told the five-judge bench.
These provinces have been under caretaker governments since early January, when their respective assemblies were dissolved.
The latest political crisis emerged after President Arif Alvi declared the election date for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) refused to do so.
In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the president cited his constitutional authority to declare April 9 as the poll date in the two provinces.
The proceedings on Tuesday began with judges debating whether President Alvi had the authority to act without the recommendation of the cabinet of Shehbaz Sharif.
Subsequently, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial highlighted the potential cost and negative impact of ongoing litigation on the public and political parties.
He emphasised the need for swift action and urged lawyers to communicate with their respective party leaders to resolve the matter before the deadline of 4:00 pm.
The previous day, Justice Bandial had split a larger bench into a five-judge one, after four judges dissociated themselves from the hearing, to conduct the proceedings and indicated they aimed to conclude the matter today.
The judges hearing the case include Justice Bandial, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Zuberi, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawyer Kamran Murtaza and President Arif Alvi’s counsel Salman Akram Raja were present in court.
More details to follow
