Justice Athar Minallah of the Supreme Court asked on Thursday if the provincial assemblies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab were dissolved according to the Constitution.
He passed these remarks as the top court took up a suo motu notice to determine who has the constitutional responsibility and authority to announce the date for elections to a provincial assembly after it was dissolved in different situations.
A nine-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and also comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, heard the case.
The hearing comes after President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday unilaterally announced April 9 as the election date in both provinces after his invitation for consultations on the matter was turned down by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
