ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) will resume hearing a set of petitions today calling for holding elections within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies.
The apex court, on the last hearing on October 23, had issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government on the petitions. The three-member bench consisted of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Athar Minallah will take up a set of four petitions moved by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Munir Ahmad and Ibad-ur-Rehman. The hearing was adjourned to November 2 (today).
Abid Zuberi had pleaded with the top court to suspend the operation of a decision taken by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on August 5 since the body did not meet the legal requirement of proper composition when it met that day. He said the ECP’s primary responsibility was to hold elections within 90 days from the date of dissolution of the assemblies — a mandatory period which cannot be extended on any ground, including delimitation of constituencies.
Justice Minallah wondered whether the decision to hold a fresh census was a “pretext for delaying the elections”. He further observed that the language of Article 224 (2) of the Constitution was very clear and wondered whether those responsible for its violation should be identified.
The Chief Justice said a constitutional provision should be followed in letter and spirit. However, the court got different answers to the question that who was responsible for announcing a date for elections. Some petitioners said it should be done by the President while others named the ECP.
