PESHAWAR: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s request to set aside the new election schedule issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), saying that the government was not consulted on the schedule.
During the hearing, the KP government opposed the election in remaining 18 districts on March 31. The KP Advocate General Shumail Ahmad Butt said that the government was not consulted before issuing the schedule.
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During the hearing, Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has already agreed to polls on 27 March but now it is backtracking from its commitment to election in the remaining districts. Justice Ahsan said that the court will not set a wrong precedent by suspending the election schedule. “It is the job of the Election Commission to issue the election schedule and hold the elections,” Justice Ahsan said. “The KP government is looking for escape (from elections). Why should the Supreme Court interfere in the election matters?”
The top court has sent all the petitions seeking the postponement of election to the ECP with directions to announce decision within a day (15 February). The court directed KP government and other parties to present their position before the ECP.
Earlier, on February 9, The Supreme Court suspended the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order after the Election Commission of Pakistan said that LG elections in the remaining 18 districts were postponed without its consultation. A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Ayesha A Malik had declared the high court decision null and void saying that the ECP and met office should have been consulted before issuing the judgment.