Verdict would be announced today by 11am: CJP Bandial
ISLAMABAD
The Supreme Court has reserved the verdict on suo motu case regarding delay in the announcement of the date of provincial assemblies’ elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A five-member larger bench of the apex court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial concluded the two-day long proceedings in the case on Tuesday.
The CJP said that the verdict of the case would be announced on Wednesday (today) before 11am.
Earlier, the apex court had directed the incumbent government and the PTI to ‘sit together’ and decide on a date for elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab by 4 pm today.
CJP Bandial said that even if the court takes a decision on the matter of poll dates, “the litigation will continue and this will become very costly for the people and the political parties”.
The court passed the instructions after it resumed hearing the matter after a short recess.
However, when the hearing resumed after 4 pm, the lawyer for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stated that there was consultation among the allied parties of the incumbent government, but they required more time. He added that it would be appropriate for the court to proceed with the case.
Justice Muneeb questioned who would advise the president if the Assembly completed its terms. He stated that in case the assembly completed its term, elections must be held in two months.
According to the judge, the president could return the advice summary and in that case, 25 days would have been wasted.
The chief justice stated that elections within 90 days were necessary due to the current situation in the country. He furthered that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) took two weeks to give a notice, while a case was still pending before the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Justice Bandial continued that today was the second consecutive day in the Supreme Court and the case was almost over. He stated that the apex court is not supporting any political party but the Constitution.
A five-member larger bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, is conducting the hearing.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar are part of the bench.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Zuberi, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Shehzad Ata Elahi and President Dr Arif Alvi’s counsel Salman Akram Raja are present in court. JUI’s Kamran Murtaza is also present.
