Exclusive | Pak Federal Cabinet Rejects Supreme Court Verdict against Deferring KPK, Punjab Province Polls

Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Tuesday rejected the country’s Supreme Court’s “unanimous verdict” on the case pertaining to the postponement of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces, sources said.

The decision was made in a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after a three-member bench announced the apex court’s verdict on the matter which it had reserved a day earlier.

On a plea filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the court declared the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s decision to postpone polls in Punjab and KPK from April 30 to October 8 “null and void”.

The Supreme Court’s decision is a minority verdict and not enforceable, which is why the cabinet rejected it, said the sources. This decision was given by deviating from the constitution and the law. The lawyers of the ruling party were not even heard. This issue will be raised in all relevant forums including parliament, they added.

The cabinet considered various options in constitutional and legal matters, said the sources.

Federal minister Azam Nazir Tarar said in parliament that the Supreme Court itself has given the date and released the election schedule. Decisions given in haste do not bring stability, he said. “We joined hands and requested that instead of making the issue a problem of ego, a full court should be formed,” he added.

It should not be given the impression that any institution is “facilitating for anyone”, said the minister. It is beyond understanding why political parties have not been made a party, he added.

Commenting on the SC decision, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz wrote on Twitter that the verdict is the last blow of the conspiracy which began by “rewriting the Constitution and presenting the Punjab government on a plate” to the bench’s blue-eyed boy, Imran Khan.

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