FAISALABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has reiterated that he does not believe elections for the Punjab Assembly will take place on May 14, the date set by the Supreme Court.
Speaking at a press conference in Faisalabad on Saturday, Sanaullah said that even if the elections were held on May 14, this year, no one would accept the results, and he called the court’s decision that political parties should reach a consensus over the date of the poll “absurd.”
In the current case related to the Punjab elections, all political parties from the government and opposition have assured the apex court that they will discuss the polls issue on April 26 and inform the court the next day.
Sanaullah said that the country’s critical institutions, including the army, judiciary, and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), were not ready for the May elections. “Given Pakistan’s present situation, it seems impossible to hold polls in the next few days,” he said, voicing the government’s concerns about holding the polls separately.
Sanaullah said that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has never sought to escape from general elections but has adopted a “principled” stance that elections across the country should be held on the same date.
Punjab elections on May 14
“If Punjab’s polls are held first, would not they affect the general elections? The Constitution also mentions holding elections on the same day,” Rana Sanaullah reminded the judiciary. He reiterated that if elections are not held simultaneously, then the political parties might not accept the results.
Raising his objections to the Supreme Court’s three-member verdict passed on April 4, Rana Sanaullah said it has been marred with several controversies that voices of dissent judges are rising from within the court.”
In line with the SC’s orders, Sanaullah said all political parties should hold talks and decide a day for the elections. He noted that the government is ready for talks. He mentioned that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the ruling alliance in the centre, formed a negotiations committee to hold negotiations with PTI and that the government is looking forward to the April 26 meeting.
However, he noted that Imran Khan was not a person who would be willing to engage in negotiations and said that such an attitude would push the country towards disaster.
Criticising the supreme court for halting the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 before it became a law, Rana Sanaullah termed the apex court’s move against the Constitution.
