Friday, October 20, 2023
A three-member bench to hear pleas.
SCBA and PTI among the petitioners.
CJP Isa on Thursday indicated hearing the pleas.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan will on Friday hear pleas to hold elections within 90 days of October 23 (Monday).
The development was announced a day after Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa hinted at the Supreme Court's plan to hear petitions seeking early elections in the country after a caretaker government took office in August.
The petitions will be heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa and comprising Justice Athar Minullah and Justice Aminuddin Khan.
The requests were made by the Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others to ensure that polls in the country are held on time.
PTI welcomed the apex court's decision to create a bench to hear petitions seeking early polls.
"A series of serious deviations from the constitution and gross violations of citizens' basic rights has a very negative impact on the relationship between the state and citizens," a party spokesman said in a statement issued by its central media department.
The PTI argued that the Constitution is in all respects the basis of the relationship between the sovereign, the state and the citizens and also the guarantor of the country's survival, security and development.
"The Supreme Court, in its judgment dated April 4, 2023, gave a very detailed interpretation of the constitutional requirement for elections within 90 days on the plea of the former Speaker of the Punjab Assembly," the statement said.
The party said it hoped that the three-member panel of the ÚS, headed by the chief justice, would complete the hearing quickly in view of the fragility of time and ensure respect for the purpose of the Constitution regarding the holding of elections in 90 days.
A day earlier, CJP Isa indicated that the apex court may take up pleas calling for early elections and challenging the decision to try civilians in military courts in the coming days.
His remarks came during a discussion on the adjournment of a case related to Pak Arab refinery workers, when lawyers for the petitioners requested the chief justice to adjourn the hearing for 15 days.
“Cases seeking early general elections and trials of civilians in military courts will soon be resolved. Heavy cases are coming to the Supreme Court and it will be difficult to schedule more cases [during this period],” the chief justice noted.
Ambiguity over surveys
The Shehbaz Sharif-led government dissolved the National Assembly on 9 August, while the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies were also dissolved early to allow the electoral body to hold elections in the country within 90 days.
If the assemblies were dissolved in time, the electoral body was constitutionally obliged to hold elections within 60 days.
However, the ECP decided not to hold the polls within the stipulated time as the Council of Common Interest (CCI), days before the dissolution of the assembly, approved the 7th Population, House and Housing Census 2023.
The CCI's approval stipulated that the commission would compulsorily hold elections after the new delimitations in light of the census results.
Subsequently, on August 17, the ECP announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the CCI.
However, in September, the commission announced that the country's general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024.
However, before the announcement, several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the delays in the elections.
The petitioners include the Supreme Court Bar Association, Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). All three petitioners asked the apex court to ensure that the elections are held within 90 days.
These petitions were filed during the tenure of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, but were not meant to be heard.
