Verdict would be announced today by 11am: CJP Bandial
\n ISLAMABAD
\nThe Supreme Court has reserved the verdict on suo motu case regarding delay in the announcement of the date of provincial assemblies\u2019 elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
\nA 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.
\nThe CJP said that the verdict of the case would be announced on Wednesday (today) before 11am.
\nEarlier, the apex court had directed the incumbent government and the PTI to \u2018sit together\u2019 and decide on a date for elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab by 4 pm today.
\nCJP Bandial said that even if the court takes a decision on the matter of poll dates, \u201cthe litigation will continue and this will become very costly for the people and the political parties\u201d.
\nThe court passed the instructions after it resumed hearing the matter after a short recess.
\nHowever, 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.
\nJustice 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.
\nAccording to the judge, the president could return the advice summary and in that case, 25 days would have been wasted.
\nThe 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).
\nJustice 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.
\nA five-member larger bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, is conducting the hearing.
\nJustice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar are part of the bench.
\nSupreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Abid Zuberi, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Shehzad Ata Elahi and President Dr Arif Alvi\u2019s counsel Salman Akram Raja are present in court. JUI\u2019s Kamran Murtaza is also present.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[292],"class_list":{"0":"post-316637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-supreme-court"},"yoast_head":"\n