By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A senator on Saturday challenged a resolution that sought to delay the Feb. 8 elections, calling it unconstitutional and an attack on democracy.
The fresh resolution, moved by Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, urged the timely conduct of the polls, saying that holding elections was a constitutional requirement and the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the caretaker government.
It denounced the previous resolution, which was passed by only 15 senators in a thinly attended session on Friday, as “unconstitutional and undemocratic” and demanded its nullification.
The resolution also stressed that the Senate lacked the authority to act contrary to constitutional mandates and the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which had upheld the election commission’s announcement that elections would be held on Feb. 8, 2024.
“The resolution passed surreptitiously in the Senate is an attack on democracy and elections,” Khan said in his resolution, which he also shared on social media. “It has demeaned the Senate and tarnished its reputation. This resolution is unconstitutional. The Senate of Pakistan cannot pass a resolution that is against the constitution.”
Khan said holding timely elections was a constitutional requirement and the responsibility of the caretaker government and the election commission.
“The Supreme Court of Pakistan has already given its decision on this matter… The postponement of elections scheduled for February 8, citing law and order or weather conditions, is unconstitutional.”
He said that he condemned the first resolution and had brought a “counter resolution in the Senate.”
“The caretaker government and undemocratic forces are fleeing from the elections… Any delay in elections will solely benefit undemocratic forces and will have dangerous implications for the country’s politics, democracy, constitution, unity and integrity.”
The resolution said the election commission had already proclaimed the date for the polls.
The elections in Pakistan were originally supposed to be held in November, 90 days after the National Assembly was dissolved last August, but they were delayed due to fresh demarcation of constituencies on the basis of the latest digital census in the country.
“Free and fair polls must be held on February 8, 2024, under all circumstances in accordance with the election commission’s announcement,” it said. “All political parties should get a level playing field, and the resolution adopted by the honorable Senate on 05-01-2024 regarding the election delay should be considered void.”
The inclusion of the resolution in the agenda of the upcoming session of the Senate remains uncertain, as the date for the session has not been confirmed.
The resolution seeking to delay the polls was moved by independent Senator Dilawar Khan, who claimed that he had consulted with the Balochistan Awami Party, a pro-military party. The resolution cited security threats and harsh weather as reasons for seeking a four-month postponement of the elections.
The resolution was criticized by other opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
The caretaker information minister, however, said that there was no directive of the prime minister or the federal cabinet for delaying the elections and that the resolution was non-binding and only expressed the opinion of some senators.
A contempt petition was also filed in the country’s top court against the Senate chairman and the other senators who passed the resolution seeking to delay the polls.
The petition, filed by a lawyer Ishtiaq Ahmed Mirza, alleged that the senators had shown “malicious intent and hidden motives” to undermine the democratic process and had attempted to influence the election commission to postpone the general elections.
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