CJP Isa-led bench to hear pleas seeking timely elections on Oct 23

Front facade of the Supreme Court building in Islamabad. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday fixed October 23 for the hearing of petitions seeking the conduct of general elections within 90 days.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa and comprising Justice Athar Minullah and Justice Aminuddin Khan, will hear the pleas.

The petitions have been filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others to ensure that polls in the country are conducted in a timely manner.

A day earlier, CJP Isa had indicated that the apex court may take up the pleas calling for timely elections and challenging the decision to try civilians in military courts in the coming days.

His remarks came during the discussion about adjournment of a case related to Pak Arab Refinery's employees when the lawyers for the petitioners asked the top judge to adjourn the hearing for 15 days.

“Cases seeking timely general elections and trial of civilians in military courts will be fixed soon. Difficult cases are about to come in the Supreme Court and it will be tough to schedule other cases [during this period],” the chief justice remarked.

Delay in polls

The Shehbaz Sharif-led government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, while Sindh and Balochistan assemblies were also prematurely dissolved to allow the electoral authority to hold elections in the country within 90 days.

Had the assemblies been dissolved on time, the electoral body was constitutionally bound to hold polls in 60 days.

However, the ECP decided against holding polls within the stipulated time as the Council of Common Interest (CCI), days before the dissolution of the assemblies, approved the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023.

The CCI approval made it mandatory for the commission to hold elections following fresh delimitations in light of the results of the census.

Subsequently, on August 17, the ECP announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the CCI.

But in September, the commission announced that general elections in the country would take place in the last week of January 2024.

However, before the announcement, multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the delay in polls.

Among the petitioners are the Supreme Court Bar Association, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). All three petitioners have asked the apex court to ensure that polls are held within 90 days.

These petitions were filed during the tenure of former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial, however, they were not fixed for a hearing.