ISLAMABAD: Presi­d­ent Arif Alvi has questioned the legality of caretaker governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which have crossed their constitutional limit of 90 days.

The president on Thursday forwarded a letter written by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry to PM Shehbaz Sharif, asking him to look into the issues raised in the letter.

“The president has requested the prime minister to address the issues raised by the former federal minister to uphold the Constitution and streng­then democracy,” the Presidency said in a tweet.

In his letter written on April 16, Mr Chaudhry requested the president to send a reference to the SC to ensure timely elections in Punjab and KP.

He alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government were violating the Constitution in this regard.

Says Punjab, KP administrations already crossed 90-day limit

He asked the president to take notice of the situation wherein the caretaker set-ups had been established in both provinces to ensure free and fair elections, but the stipulated time of 90 days had almost passed due to “unlawful and unconstitutional” steps by the PDM coalition government.

On the same day Mr Chaudhry, at a news conference, had urged the chief justice of Pakistan to send the caretaker governments packing and appo­int administrators in both provinces for elections.

The assemblies in Punjab and KP were dissolved by the PTI in January following the announcement by the party’s chairman Imran Khan at a public rally in November last year.

The KP Assembly stood dissolved on January 18 after Governor Haji Ghu­lam Ali approved then-chief minister Mahmood Khan’s summary. Earlier on January 14, the Punjab Assembly saw the same fate.

Subsequently, careta­k­­er governments were formed in both provinces whose 90-day constitutional limit has already run out.

Earlier this month, the PTI filed a petition before the Lahore High Court challenging an ECP notification giving “blanket” powers to the caretaker government of Punj­­ab to make transfers and postings.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2023