Today, the Supreme Court hears the matter of the Punjab and KP elections.

ISLAMABAD :– Today, a nine-member Supreme Court (SC) panel will hear a suo motu complaint concerning election delays in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Thursday).

The panel, led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, will begin hearing the case at 2 p.m. to determine who has the right to set the election date.

The bench consists of Justices Ijazul Ahsan, Munib Akhtar, Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Yahya Afridi, Judge Athar Minallah, and Muhammad Ali Mazhar.

In a notification, the CJP indicated that on February 16, two Supreme Court justices submitted a subject to him, asking suo motu proceedings. Moreover, as indicated by the CJP in the notice, other applications have been filed before the supreme court addressing the matter of postponed elections.

CJP Bandial further said that the Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the date for Punjab’s elections as soon as possible, and that the Punjab governor and the ECP have both filed appeals with the court, which are now being heard.

He further said that the governor of KP had not set a date for conducting elections and that a petition in this respect was pending before the Peshawar High Court.

“It appears to be the governor’s argument that because he did not act on the recommendation offered by the then-chief minister and issued no order dissolving the assembly, he does not have the obligation or power to designate the date for the general election. The election commission appears to have also taken the position that, under the Constitution, it has no authority to set the date for a general election, despite having stated categorically (as reported in the public media, both print and electronic) that it is fully committed to conducting the election in accordance with the Constitution.”

In light of the aforesaid, the CJP said: “I am of the judgement that the matters addressed deserve quick study and determination by this court. Many elements of the Constitution, as well as pertinent portions of the Elections Act, must be reviewed.

“In particular, the issues involve, prima facie, a consideration of Article 17 of the Constitution and enforcement, inter alia, of the fundamental right of political parties and the citizens who form the electorates in the Punjab and KP provinces to exercise their right to elect representatives of their choice to constitute fresh assemblies and provincial cabinets. This is required for the two provinces’ governments to function in conformity with the Constitution.

“These issues include the discharge of constitutional responsibilities of high public significance, in addition to the requirement for faithful constitutional enforcement,” the CJP said.