ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) core committee on Friday unanimously passed a resolution, demanding President Dr Arif Alvi to announce election date without any delay ahead of lawyers’ nationwide strike announced by the Pakistan Bar Council to press the demand for elections date on Saturday (today).
During a session held here, the PTI core committee members said that the country is facing constitutional, political, democratic, administrative and economic crises as the state infrastructure was shaken after the ‘unconstitutional move’ of April 2022.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) had urged President Dr Arif Alvi to announce a date for elections by exercising his constitutional authority under Article 48 of the Constitution.
During the All-Pakistan Lawyers Representatives Conference in the Supreme Court, the PBC also announced that lawyers will observe a nationwide strike on September 9 to demand the announcement of election date.
In a presser outside the court, Haroon Rashid and Hassan Raza Pasha — vice-chairman and chairman PBC Executive Committee — informed journalists about a resolution passed by the conference, seeking the president’s intervention in the matter.
Hassan Raza Pasha said that lawyers will bring out peaceful rallies on September 9 and there will be a complete strike, adding the Punjab Bar Council will also hold a convention in Lahore.
“Under Article 48 of the Constitution, the President of Pakistan is competent to announce the date for holding general elections, and they should be held within the stipulated 90 days,” Pasha said.
Rashid, meanwhile, spoke about the country’s constitutional crisis, adding that despite the dissolution of national and provincial assemblies, elections do not seem to be held within the stipulated time of 90 days.
Therefore, he said it is incumbent upon the president to play his constitutional role and announce the date for general elections in the country. “The president is not required to hold any consultation with anyone; hence, he should play his constitutional role and announce the date for general elections forthwith,” Rashid added.
The PTI committee pointed out that the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies had been dissolved on January 14 and 18 respectively but the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government did not fulfil its constitutional duty to conduct polls to both the assemblies in 90 days besides violating the Supreme Court’s April 4 orders.
The political party urged for concrete steps to establish a democratic government to resolve the crisis.
The PTI core committee said that Article 48 bounds the president to finalise the election date in 90 days and the president should fulfil his constitutional duty.
The core committee said that the president would be responsible for violating constitutional and democratic rights if he failed to give election date.
