Election delay case
\nTop court\u2019s decision is not enforceable, sources in federal cabinet say
\nMonitoring Desk
\nISLAMABAD
\nThe federal cabinet Tuesday rejected the Supreme Court\u2019s \u201cunanimous verdict\u201d on the case pertaining to the postponement of election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), sources told Geo News.
\nThe development came during the cabinet\u2019s meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held after a three-member bench \u2014 headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar as members \u2014 announced the apex court\u2019s verdict on the matter which it had reserved a day earlier.
\nAnnouncing the verdict on a plea filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the country\u2019s top court declared the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s (ECP) decision to postpone polls in Punjab and KP from April 30 to October 8 as \u2018null and void\u2019.
\nThe Supreme Court, in its verdict, states that the ECP\u2019s order dated March 22, 2023, is declared to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio, of no legal effect, and is hereby quashed.
\n\u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s decision is a minority verdict, which is why the cabinet rejects it,\u201d the sources in the federal cabinet said.
\nThe top court\u2019s decision, as per the sources, is not enforceable.
\nThe government would raise its voice in parliament regarding the verdict, the sources added. It was also decided in the meeting that the coalition parties in power will talk about the apex court\u2019s decision in parliament, they added.
\nIn the meeting, the cabinet decided to present its position on the verdict.
\n\u2018Last blow of conspiracy\u2019
\nCommenting on the SC decision, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz took to her Twitter and wrote that today\u2019s verdict is the last blow of the conspiracy which began by \u201crewriting the Constitution and presenting the Punjab government on a plate\u201d to the bench\u2019s blue-eyed boy, Khan.
\nMaryam termed the three-member bench as \u201cKhan\u2019s facilitators\u201d and said that this was done so he could be reselected under their presence and supervision.
\n\u201cThis bench has taken responsibility for the work done by [Lt Gen] Faiz [Hamid], [ex-CJP Asif Saeed] Khosa and Saqib Nisar in 2018. A majority of the Supreme Court revolted against this appalling and brazen facilitation and one-man show,\u201d the PML-N scion tweeted, stressing that it is now time for the parliament to stop this facilitation using its \u201cconstitutional and legal hands\u201d.
\nShe further stated that it is not enough for the federal cabinet to reject the verdict. The PML-N politician wrote that those who tried to impose the \u201cfavourite\u201d by defying the Constitution and law should be brought to the rostrum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Election delay case Top court\u2019s decision is not enforceable, sources in federal cabinet say Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD The federal cabinet Tuesday rejected the Supreme Court\u2019s \u201cunanimous verdict\u201d on the case pertaining to the postponement of election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), sources told Geo News. The development came during the cabinet\u2019s meeting, chaired by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-323844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n