ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government on Monday on a set of petitions calling for holding elections within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures.

The three-judge bench consisted of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Athar Minallah.

It had taken up a set of four petitions moved by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Munir Ahmad and Ibad-ur-Rehman. The hearing was adjourned to Nov 2.

When Abid Zuberi, the SCBA chief, requested the court to order the ECP and the government to submit their replies on the petition, the CJP observed it was not needed since the date for elections might be announced soon.

Justice Isa observes all constitutional provisions must be complied with

Abid Zuberi, through his petition, had pleaded with the apex court to suspend the operation of a decision taken by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Aug 5 since the body did not meet the legal requirement of proper composition when it met that day.

The ECP’s primary responsibility was to hold elections within 90 days from the date of dissolution of the assemblies — a mandatory period which cannot be extended on any ground, including delimitation of constituencies.

The CJP observed there were no two opinions that “all of us want elections, but a wrong impression is being created that we are not interested”.

Justice Athar Minallah wondered whether the decision to hold a fresh census was a “pretext for delaying the elections”.

Justice Minallah further observed that the language of Article 224 (2) of the Constitution was very clear and wondered whether those responsible for its violation should be identified or not.

Justice Faez Isa said it was surprising the SCBA or any other body did not file an application seeking early hearing of the matter.

The CJP said a constitutional provision should be followed in letter and spirit.

When the court inquired who was responsible for announcing a date for elections, different answers were given. Some of the petitioners said it should be done by the president while others named the ECP.

All the petitioners were, however, unanimous that even if a date is announced today, elections cannot be held within 90 days.

The petitioners said they had restricted their prayers to the extent of holding elections and, therefore, had no objection to hearing of petitions by the three-judge bench.

So the court allowed Barrister Ali Zafar and Anwar Mansoor to amend their petitions.

The CJP wondered whether a writ could be issued against the president for not announcing a date for elections. Abid Zuberi replied that action could be taken against any person for “failing to fulfil a constitutional responsibility”.

But the CJP observed that a constitutional violation entailed action under Article 6, which deals with high treason.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2023