01/03/2023
The Supreme Court, in a split verdict, ruled on Wednesday that elections for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab assemblies should be held within 90 days.
The direction was issued by the apex court in the suo motu notice verdict which was announced by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
The top court had taken suo motu notice on the issue over the election date as to who — the president, governors, or the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) — is responsible for fixing the date in case the provincial assemblies are dissolved.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail conducted the hearings for two consecutive days — from Monday to Tuesday.
After two-day long hearings, the court reserved its verdict at around 6:30pm as the parties involved in the case wrapped up their arguments.
The top court had also asked the political parties — the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the ruling alliance — to agree upon a mutual date for the elections, but the counsel for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) told the court that it is not the job of political parties to fix election date.
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