PESHAWAR: Owing to absence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor’s counsel, Peshawar High Court on Wednesday adjourned hearing into a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s petition seeking orders for Election Commission of Pakistan to hold polls for provincial assembly within 90 days of its dissolution or with minimum possible deviation from that deadline.

A bench consisting of PHC Chief Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shakeel Ahmad observed that it would fix next date of hearing later on.

The bench put off the hearing after an assistant of Tariq Afridi, lawyer for the provincial governor, informed it that comments were filed on behalf of governor. He stated that Mr Afridi had gone to Islamabad and could not return due to uncertain situation and closure of roads.

During course of hearing, the PHC chief justice expressed concerns over the political situation in the country, observing that their forefathers rendered sacrifices for the country and the ongoing situation was a matter of sorrow for them.

Comments filed on behalf of governor, bench informed

The petition is jointly filed by KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani and PTI secretary general Asad Umar.

The petitioners requested the court to declare illegal and unconstitutional a letter written by the governor to ECP in March to recommend Oct 8 as the election date and a subsequent notification by the commission to fix that date for polls.

The KP Assembly was dissolved by the governor on January 18 on the advice of the then chief minister.

Advocate Shumail Ahmad Butt appeared for the petitioners and stated that the present petition was filed in the light of the April 4 order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, wherein the apex court ordered that the petitioners should seek relief from the appropriate forum. He said that the 90-day election deadline stipulated by the Constitution expired on April 18.

He stated that ECP issued the impugned notification on March 27, fixing Oct 8 as the polling day. He contended that Supreme Court in its order fixed May 14 as date for holding polls for the provincial assembly of Punjab, but it did not give any such date for the KP polls.

The counsel said that the apex court had ordered that the issue of polls in KP should be taken up before the appropriate forum.

He added that a petition was filed in that regard before the Supreme Court but it was returned by the registrar after which the present petition was filed in the high court.

He requested the court to declare that elections for the provincial assembly should be held not later than 90 days of its dissolution, subject to the barest minimum deviation in present circumstances.

Mt Butt said that the provincial caretaker government completed its three-month tenure and the affairs of the government were run by unelected persons, which was an injustice to the people of the province. He contended that the respondents were using delaying tactics and were not filing comments to the petition.

Advocate General Aamir Javed said that the provincial government had already filed its comments in the case. ECP’s counsel Mohsin Kamran Siddique informed the bench that the reply of the commission was also filed in the case.

The bench observed that it would decide the matter in accordance with Constitution.

Mr Butt requested the court that the next date might be fixed at the earliest as the issue was already delayed due to one reason or another.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2023