The Supreme Court of Pakistan has decided to hold elections in Punjab on 14 May
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has decided to hold elections on May 14 in Punjab province, the country's most populous state.




A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial overturned the Election Commission's decision to declare elections on 8 October and decided to hold elections in Punjab on 14 May.

The court said it was "unreasonable" for the Election Commission to hold elections on March 22, October 8, and that the Election Commission had "exceeded its powers".

The Supreme Court announced that the term of the Punjab Election Commission will be started and after that, it will be informed about the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the decision will be taken in the appropriate forum.

The court also recorded, with some modifications, the details of the Punjab electoral period as part of its judgment.

In this regard, the High Court directed the government to release the Rs 2,100 crore required for the elections by April 10 and also asked the Election Commission to submit a report on the funds to the High Court on April 11.

Similarly, Punjab's and the caretaker governments have given time to take measures for this.

The decision of the Supreme Court was welcomed by the leaders of the Pakistan Justice Movement, but the Federal Constitution criticized the decision.

Pakistan Justice Movement leader Fawad Chowdhury said the Supreme Court's decision is to protect the rights of all Pakistani citizens.

He congratulated the victory of the national constitution.

Justice Movement-affiliated lawyer Faisal Chaudhary called the decision a "decision for the future of Pakistan" and said the people of Pakistan would continue to protect him. Support our legal action against all illegal activities.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to postpone an election in Punjab province "unreasonable", affecting the government that had tried to postpone the election in the province, citing security concerns and a financial crisis.

A panel of judges headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial of Pakistan and comprising Justices Munib Akhtar and Ijazul Ahsan fixed May 14 as the date for the provincial elections.

On March 22, the ECP postponed state elections in the critical state of Punjab by more than five months, citing poor security in the cash-starved country, with PTI leader Imran Khan criticizing him.

Imran called for early elections after he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last April. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif rejected the request and continued to protest elections scheduled for next year.

The PDM government wants to hold national elections and elect both state legislatures on the same day.

"The order in question is 22.03.

It declares the Act, 2023 passed by the Election Commission of Pakistan as illegal, without any constitutional or statutory power, without authority, and without any law, and is hereby set aside. It does not give strength to exceed 90 days. It was also stated in the numbered decision

of.

"The Punjab government should provide security measures to the Election Commission," the Supreme Court said. He added that the caretaker cabinet and the Punjab secretary have to report to the ECP about the status of candidates by April 10.