Islamabad [Pakistan], May 15 : The Supreme Court (SC) will take up the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) plea today (Monday) seeking to revisit its April 4 order of holding elections in Punjab as the May 14 deadline set by the top court expired on Sunday, reported The News International.
The electoral authority had postponed the Punjab polls to October, which the PTI had challenged. The Supreme Court, in an April 4 order, declared the ECP's decision to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio and of no legal effect.
Last month, a three-member bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar declared the ECP's decision of holding polls on October 8 instead of April 30 "illegal" and ordered the electoral watchdog to hold polls in Punjab on May 14.
Subsequently, the election orgsing authority moved the top court to review its April 4 directives. In a 14-page petition, the top election orgsing authority said that the apex court should review its decision as the judiciary "doesn't have the authority to give the date of elections," reported Geo News.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan said that there is no legal or constitutional standing of the caretaker government in Punjab, referring to the Supreme Court's deadline of May 14 for polls in the province.
"Not holding elections in Punjab today after the order of the Constitution and the Supreme Court is an attempt to brutally kill the Constitution," it said.
During a meeting under the leadership of Imran Khan, the party agreed to prepare a comprehensive legal action plan regarding the future of the caretaker governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported Dawn.
"Immediate holding of clean and transparent elections across the country is the only constitutional way to achieve internal stability and effective solution to political and economic crises," the PTI said.
In a bid to ensure elections on the prescribed date, the three-member bench of the Supreme Court on April 14 ordered the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to allocate and release Rs 21 billion from the funds held with it to the ECP, reported The News International.
On April 18, the ECP informed the top court that it had not yet received Rs 21 billion required for holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
However, despite multiple rounds of negotiations, both sides could not develop a consensus on the matter and on May 3, the PTI submitted a report to the top court on negotiations with the PDM-led government, requesting the apex court to ensure implementation of its April 4 judgement regarding holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
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