ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against a notification issued by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali to put off provincial elections.
PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, former KP chief minister Mehmood Khan and provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jagra, Kamran Khan Bangash, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and Muhammad Atif have filed the petition a couple of days after the top court ordered elections in Punjab on May 14.
The petition has pleaded the court to nullify the governor’s notification and direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections in KP nearest to the 90-day period after the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
The petition said Governor Ali on March 14 announced May 28 as election date in line with the apex court’s March 1 order. However, he put off the polls till Oct 8 after the ECP postponed the elections in Punjab for the same date citing security and financial constraints.
The petition read “Under the Constitution, there is no provision in which an unelected and selected caretaker government can continue to operate for more than a period of 90 days.”
“Scope and ambit of the Constitution to allow an unrepresented government to continue to govern the population of Pakistan, including that of a province.” It added.
Punjab elections on May 14 as Supreme Court sets aside ECP order to delay polls
The PTI had already objected to the delay of the Punjab elections, and on Tuesday, the nation’s top court, in a unanimous decision, declared the ECP’s decision regarding the Punjab elections null and void. The court also ordered the electoral authority to hold snap elections, with May 14 being set as the date for Punjab.
