Pakistan SC to announce verdict tomorrow on PTI plea challenging delay in Punjab polls

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 3 (ANI): Pakistan's Supreme Court will announce verdict on Tuesday on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to postpone polls to the Punjab Assembly till October 8, Pakistan based Dawn newspaper reported.

A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, reserved the judgment today after hearing all the parties, including the government, the PTI, the ECP and others. However, it did not hear the counsel of the coalition parties, according to Dawn.

The case's hearing which lasted over a week witnessed high drama after two judges of the original five-member bench, Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Aminuddin Khan, recused themselves from hearing the case. Thereafter, the CJP constituted a bench comprising himself, Justice Ahsan and Justice Akhtar to proceed with the PTI petition.

The government earlier today submitted a statement through Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan, requesting the formation of a full court to hear the case. It also sought the dismissal of the PTI petition in the light of what it interpreted as a "4-3" order issued by the apex court on March 1.

The apex court, had in a 3-2 verdict, ruled on March 1 that elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, both of which have been under caretaker governments since the provincial assemblies were dissolved in January, should be held within 90 days.

The government, however, had disputed with the court directions, calling the verdict 4-3 instead after Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who were among the four judges who had written additional notes in the Feb 23 order, raised objections on the constitution of the bench as well as the invocation of the apex court's suo motu jurisdiction by the chief justice, according to Dawn.

The CJP, however, rejected the government's request for a full court and instead suggested that a larger bench could be sought.

During the hearing today, the secretaries of the finance and defence ministries briefed the court and submitted their respective reports, according to Dawn.

The Election Commission of Pakistan recently postponed the Punjab by-elections till October 8. The elections were earlier scheduled to be held on April 30, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

According to details, the ECP withdrew the Punjab Election Program notification issued on March 8 and decided to postpone the Punjab election and announced October 8 as the new date for elections in Punjab, as per ARY News.

According to ECP spokesman, President Arif Alvi has also been informed about the postponement of elections in Punjab, adding that the new election schedule will be released soon.

The spokesperson added that the elections were postponed under Article 218(3) and Sections 58 and 8C of the Election Act, 2017.

"A meeting with all the stakeholder institutions and departments was held to review the schedule of the Punjab election, according to the briefing, it is not possible to hold peaceful elections in the current situation," the spokesman said, as quoted by ARY News. (ANI)