Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday asked why the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was consulting with the governor on dates for the Punjab Assembly elections as the court heard petitions filed by dissident PTI MPAs against their disqualification.
\nThe ECP had disqualified 25 dissident MPAs of the PTI on May 20, 2022 on the grounds that they had voted for PML-N\u2019s Hamza Shehbaz in the election for Punjab chief minister against the party line and defected.
\nThe disqualified MPAs then petitioned the Supreme Court against the move and the ECP through Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, PTI chairman Imran Khan and the PTI\u2019s parliamentary leader in Punjab before it was dissolved, Sibtain Khan, were cited as respondents in the petition.
\nA three-member Supreme Court bench \u2014 consisting of the CJP, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Athar Minallah \u2014 heard the PTI MPAs\u2019 pleas today and dismissed them for being \u201cineffective\u201d.
\nDuring the hearing, the pending Punjab elections came under discussion in which CJP Bandial asked ECP Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad about the commission receiving directives from the Lahore High Court regarding the Punjab elections.
\n\u201cWhat is the election commission now doing after the [Lahore] High Court\u2019s order,\u201d Justice Bandial asked.
\nTo this, the ECP official replied that the ECP held discussions about it with Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman yesterday but the \u201cmeeting minutes have not been received yet\u201d. He added that the governor would \u201cmaybe take the legal route on the matter\u201d.
\nAt this, the CJP asked: \u201cWhy is the commission consulting the governor on the election dates?\u201d
\nJustice Malik also asked why there was a need to \u201chold consultations for the elections\u201d.
\nJustice Minallah said: \u201cPerhaps the [Lahore] High Court ordered the election commission to consult the governor.\u201d At this, the CJP observed: \u201cIf it is the high court\u2019s order, then the election commission may consult.\u201d
\nIn a tweet today, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry referred to the CJP\u2019s remarks and said they had \u201cto a great extent, failed the conspiracy to delay the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections and violate the Constitution\u201d.
\nHe added, \u201cIf the election commissioner still goes against the directives, then there should be strict action taken against him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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