ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Wednesday announced the much awaited 3/2 split verdict ordering elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) within 90 days.
Elections are due in these two provinces after dissolution of assemblies on January 14 and 18, respectively.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial was hearing the case daily for the last one week and on Wednesday the majority verdict, given by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, was announced. The apex court held that in case polls can’t be held within 90 days, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must propose a date that ‘deviates to the barest minimum’ from the deadline.
“In ordinary circumstances,” read the judgment, “the general election to the Punjab Assembly ought to be held on April 4, the date announced by the president in terms of his order of on February 20.
“However, we are informed that on account of the delay in the emergence of the date for the holding of the general election, it may not be possible to meet the 90-day deadline stipulated by the constitution”, the court stated, ordering the ECP to propose a date that is as close as possible to the one proposed by the president.
Note of dissent
The two other judges of the bench, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who were among the four judges who had written additional notes in the February 23 order dissented with the ruling.
In their joint note of dissent, both the judges held that the suo motu proceedings initiated by the CJP were “wholly unjustified”, besides being initiated with “undue haste.”
The note states that the suo motu proceedings “do not constitute a fit case to exercise the extraordinary original jurisdiction of this court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and are thus not maintainable as the same constitutional and legal issues seeking the same relief are pending and being deliberated upon by the respective provincial high courts in Lahore and Peshawar, without there being any inordinate delay in the conduct of the proceedings before them.”
President or Governor must discharge responsibility
The verdict stated that since elections after the dissolution of a provincial assembly were to be held within a stipulated period of time, the president or the governor “must discharge the constitutional responsibility of appointing a date for the said election swiftly and without any delay and within the shortest time possible.”
“The Election Commission must proactively be available to the president or the governor, and be prepared for such consultation as required for a date for the holding of general elections,” the order said. Regarding dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, the constitutional responsibility for appointing a date for the general election was to be discharged by the president as the governor had refused to sign on the assembly dissolution summary, said the verdict adding, but regarding the dissolution of the KP Assembly the constitutional responsibility for appointing a date for elections was to be discharged by the governor.
The top court also instructed the federal government to “ensure that the government of every province is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”.
PML-N’s leader criticises verdict
Federal Minister for Railways & Aviation, Khawaja Saad Rafique termed the decision in violation of the fundamental rights and basic principles of justice.
“It is unfortunate that members of the provincial assembly were disqualified without counting their votes. The Constitution kept knocking on the [court’s] door but no one listened, not even review was heard,” said Khawaja Saad Rafique.
A valiant decision: Imran Khan
PTI chairman Imran Khan in a tweet welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict. “We welcome the SC judgment. It was the responsibility of SC to uphold the Constitution & they have valiantly done that through their judgment today. It is an assertion of Rule of Law in Pak. We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement & moving forward with elec campaigns in KP & Punjab,” said the ex-PM in his tweet. A brief timeline
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the majority party in the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP but after his ouster in April 2022 from the office of the Prime Minister, he demanded general elections in the country and launched countrywide protests for that purpose.
Dissolution of Punjab and KP assemblies was part of his pressure tactics. However, despite the dissolution of assemblies in these two provinces the PML-N-led coalition government at the Centre did not announce polls date in the two provinces and kept postponing announcement of dates for general elections.
Last week, however, the Supreme Court took suo motu on this matter and on Wednesday directed elections in the two provinces within 90 days.
