ISLAMABAD: In a fresh development, the Ministry of Defense – which is responsible for allocating the armed forces for elections – on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court and demanded that elections be held on a single date across the country.
The ministry’s stance is in line with that of the federal government, which has consistently opposed holding separate general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The terms of the National Assembly and the legislatures of two other provinces – Sindh and Balochistan – will end later this year and the federal government wants elections not to be held in May, as directed by the Supreme Court on April 4.
“…the instant petition may be granted, the order dated 04-04-2023 passed in CP No. 5/2023 may be recalled with the direction that the general elections to the National and all Provincial Assemblies be held simultaneously. The ministry’s request states that the completion of the term of the national and other two provincial assemblies namely Sindh and Balochistan.
In an April 4 order, the Supreme Court ruled that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the Punjab Assembly polls to October 8 was “unconstitutional” and fixed May 14 as the date for elections in Punjab.
The order states that “the unconstitutional order passed by the Election Commission of Pakistan on 22.03.2023 is declared to be unconstitutional, without legal authority or jurisdiction, which has no legal effect and is hereby repealed”. “Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the Commission to extend the date of election beyond the period of 90 days as provided in Article 224(2) of the Constitution.”
The ECP had announced on March 22 that the elections in Punjab would be held on October 8. Earlier, the date was fixed on April 30 in consultation with President Arif Alvi, but later it was extended in view of the security situation and non-supply. Funds from the government.
But despite the court orders, the government did not budge and passed a resolution in Parliament against the decision, clearly stating that it would not provide funds to the Election Commission.
Following this move by the government, the Supreme Court directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to release a total of Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission for conducting the elections, but even after the April 17 deadline passed, the Central The bank did not release the funds. .
A day earlier, in a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, State Bank Acting Governor Seema Kamil said that the central bank had allocated funds for the elections – on the order of the Supreme Court – but had no authority to release them. was not.
In a report filed in the Supreme Court earlier today, the ECP said holding the elections on May 14 was becoming impossible due to non-provision of funds and security forces to maintain law and order.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah asserted last week that despite all the efforts of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Punjab Assembly elections will not be held on May 14.
In response, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry demanded contempt of court proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet for not releasing funds to the Election Commission.
The PTI had dissolved both assemblies in January to force the government to hold elections across the board, but the Shehbaz-led administration did not accede to the demand.
Due to deadlock between the two parties, Jamaat-e-Islami proposed negotiations with them and PTI formed a three-member committee to negotiate with the government. However, there is a difference between the ruling coalition on negotiations with the opposition.
