The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling today after examining a report from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) concerning allocating funds and security personnel for elections in Punjab.
The top court had previously instructed the ECP to provide an update on progress made regarding its election order by April 11. In a confidential one-page report, the commission informed the court that the government had not released Rs21 billion. In addition, the caretaker government in Punjab has only approved 75,000 security personnel, as opposed to the requested 300,000.
On April 4, a three-member apex court bench declared the ECP’s March 22 order unconstitutional.
The bench had announced this verdict in response to petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), challenging the ECP’s order to postpone the Punjab election until October 8 and set May 14 as the polling date for the province.
Sources reveal that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial is likely to consult with fellow judges today regarding the non-implementation of the court’s order and may issue an appropriate ruling.
