By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday rejected a request from the defense ministry to hold provincial and national elections in Pakistan on the same date, but indicated it would be open to changing the election date for the province of Punjab if the political parties can come to an agreement.
The defense ministry had requested that elections be held simultaneously throughout Pakistan.
However, the top court ordered that the elections in Punjab be held on May 14th, following a judgment earlier this month.
The court also directed the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to allocate funds and arrange security for the polls in both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan had dissolved the governments in January ahead of a general election due in October.
Despite the court’s order, Sharif’s government has argued that it is not economically viable to hold snap elections in both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citing the constitutional mandate to hold elections within 90 days of the dissolution of a legislative assembly.
As tensions have escalated between the government and judiciary, the Supreme Court has directed the central bank to release the necessary funds to the election regulator by April 17th.
However, the parliament has refused to comply with the court’s demand to provide Rs21 billion in funds for the elections.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial rebuffed the government’s stance that the security situation in Pakistan was deteriorating, pointing out that elections had been held in the past even during times of heightened militancy.
The attorney general Mansoor Usman Awan requested the court to grant respite as political parties were willing to negotiate on when to hold elections.
He informed the court about the committees constituted by both the opposition and ruling parties to end the political impasse.
The chief justice agreed that negotiations should be given a chance, but reminded everyone that May 14th was fast approaching.
The three-member bench issued notices to all political parties for their input on talks and election date, indicating that if there is consensus on talks, the court could change the election date for Punjab, but otherwise, elections will be held on May 14th. The court will again meet on Thuesday.
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