The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) March 22 decision on the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) election null and void.
The much-awaited decision on the PTI’s petition contesting the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order delaying the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was delivered by a three-member bench made up of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar. (KP).
After hearing from the Election Commission, PTI, and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, the SC reserved judgment on the matter.
The Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), Mansoor Awan, submitted the Ministry of Defence’s report to the Supreme Court (SC) detailing the availability of security personnel for election responsibilities before today’s ruling.
Meanwhile, outside the structure holding the apex court, there was a significant police presence and heavy security was in place.
Following Justice Mandukhel and Justice Aminuddin’s withdrawal from the case’s hearings, which ran more than a week, there was intense drama during the proceedings.
The coalition government objected on the bench, despite its desire for a full court to hear the case. In addition, the PDM government requested that the PTI petition be dismissed in view of what it perceived to be a “4-3” ruling rendered by the Supreme Court on March 1.
Separately, a motion mandating the creation of a full SC bench to hear constitutional cases was also approved by the NA last week.
Federal cabinet approves draft law to curtail CJP SUO MOTU Power
According to the resolution, which was proposed by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, the Election Commission of Pakistan is a constitutional entity, and any intrusion into its territory should be avoided. Instead, the commission should be allowed to conduct elections in an atmosphere that is favorable in accordance with its authority.
Unexpectedly, the Supreme Court did not listen to the arguments made by the attorneys for the political groups that make up the ruling coalition.
The government won’t accept it, according to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, if a high court judgement is made hastily. Azam Nazeer Tarar regretted that the nine-member SC panel that had originally started the suo motu proceedings had been reduced to three members. One of the more experienced justices on the bench, Justice Mandokhail, declined to hear the case.
For the sake of political and economic stability, he believed that simultaneous general elections should be conducted throughout the country.
The petition
The election commission’s move to change the date of the elections in Punjab and KP was contested by PTI. Sibtain Khan and Mushtaq Ghani, the speakers of the Punjab and KPK assemblies, have submitted a joint constitutional appeal on behalf of the Pakistan Tehrik.-i-Insaf
In the PTI petition, the ministry of parliamentary affairs, the ministry of law, and the government were added as parties along with the federation, Punjab, and KPK.
PTI asked for instructions from the central government in the petition to guarantee law and order, the provision of resources and security personnel as required by the ECP to conduct the elections.
Additionally, it asked the court to order the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to declare the date of the provincial assembly elections.
