In the midst of controversy surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision to label the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) postponement of elections in Punjab as “unconstitutional,” the electoral body is set to convene today to discuss the ruling.
The ECP has scheduled an urgent meeting to examine the Supreme Court’s verdict and determine its course of action.
The ECP Secretariat will host the meeting at 11 am, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. The commission plans to examine the apex court order from various perspectives and consider any recommendations or instructions.
Read: Pakistan Supreme Court reinstates Punjab election schedule, declares ECP decision illegal
A senior ECP official revealed that the meeting would also assess the election schedule previously provided by the commission for the Punjab Assembly’s general election. The Supreme Court recently annulled the ECP’s decision on elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and instructed the ECP to reinstate its previous election schedule, extending it by 13 days.
The court emphasized that the ECP cannot exceed the 90-day stipulated timeframe and noted that 13 days had been squandered due to the ECP’s unlawful decision. The court also directed the Punjab caretaker government to support the ECP and informed the commission to report any refusal.
In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while speaking to National Assembly on Tuesday, termed the apex court’s verdict to the judicial murder of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, claiming justice was “murdered” again on the same day.
