By 
ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must hold polls in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days.
The hearing on the suo moto notice was concluded on Tuesday, and the Supreme Court (SC) declared a divided decision of 3-2. Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Jamal Mandokhail dissented from the majority judgment.
The short decision concluded that the Pakistani Election Commission did not successfully carry out its duties during the election. In KP, the provincial governor is in charge of announcing the election date, but the president is in charge of announcing the election date in Punjab.
If elections in Punjab cannot be held on April 9, as the president had declared, a consultation would be held to determine a new date.
Following President Arif Alvi’s announcement of the election schedule, the SC took the suo motu notice of what appeared to be a delay in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections on February 23, which was met with harsh criticism from the government.
The case was considered by a five-judge panel that included Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justices Munib Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah, and Justice Mandokhail. The lawyers’ assistance in the case was acknowledged by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.
The case was considered by a five-judge panel that included Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justices Munib Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shah, and Justice Mandokhail.
The lawyers’ assistance in the case was acknowledged by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial.
The coalition government and PTI were were given until 4 p.m. to meet and determine the dates for the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. But no mutually acceptable time was identified.
