LAHORE, Oct 7: Pakistan Lawyers Forum counsel A.K.Dogar contended on Monday during arguments on the amended writ petition challenging the validity of the Legal Framework Order that the Chief Election Commissioner had no power to fix the date for the general election on his own.

The counsel made the submission when Mr.Justice Muhammad Saeed Akhtar of the Lahore High Court, who is hearing the case, observed the date for the general election had been announced by the CEC. The counsel submitted that the CEC was only commissioned to hold the elections only under directions from the government and could not take decisions on his own.

He further submitted that the government contention that only the date for the general election was to be announced before Oct 12, 2002, for the implementation of the Supreme Court judgements in Zafar Ali Shah and Wasim Sajjad cases was wrong. President Musharraf was required to fix the date in a manner that the process of transfer of power to the elected civilians could be completed before the expiry of the three years deadline.

He submitted that the election schedule should have been announced by July 12, 2002, at the latest for completing the transfer of power process during the 90-day period available till Oct 12, 2002. But President Musharraf had violated the three years deadline given by the Supreme Court for holding elections and transfer of power by fixing Nov 12 as the date for holding the Senate elections.

When the learned judge referred to the 90-day promise held out by the late General Ziaul Haq for holding the general election, the counsel submitted that the Supreme Court had not issued any specific direction in the case in view of the solemn pledge of Attorney General A.K.Brohi that the period of deviation from the Constitution would be the shortest possible.

He contended that the governemnt had become unlawful from the date of announcement of the election schedule violative of the Supreme Court judgment. He would continue arguments in the case on Tuesday (today).

DIRECTION PETITION: The judge overruled the objection to a petition filed by M.D.Tahir praying for the court directions for sending President Musharraf, Governor Khalid Maqbool and the Punjab home secretary to Saudi Arabia or the US to prevent them from interfering in elections and directed that it should be placed before him for hearing. He submitted that he had moved the petition as a voter who felt that fair elections could not be held in the presence of the president, the Punjab governor and the home secretary in the country. He said that the three could be sent abroad under the same law which had been applied for sending former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family to Saudi Arabia.