By Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: An important meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will be held tomorrow (Monday) to discuss the holding of general elections for the provincial assembly of Punjab after the Lahore High Court ordered the election body to announce a date for the polls at the earliest.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja will chair the meeting. The meeting of the ECP was summoned a day after Lahore High Court’s direction to hold elections in the province within 90 days of the dissolution of the assembly.
According to the officials, the ECP would finalise the plan to implement the LHC verdict. The sources said that on Friday, a meeting of the top ECP officials considered President Dr. Arif Alvi’s letter to the CEC seeking immediate announcement of dates for elections to the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. The Election Commission of Pakistan also discussed the Ministry of Interior’s letter refusing to provide army and civil armed forces personnel for security duties during elections.
The paucity of funds as told by the finance ministry, for the polling exercise also came under discussion during the meeting. It is to mention here that the finance ministry has refused to provide funds in the wake of the bleak economic situation. The meeting also discussed the security concerns feared by Punjab and KP’s chief secretaries and police chiefs.
LHC directions to ECP
The LHC verdict on Thursday said that the polls in Punjab are to be held within the constitutional timeframe of 90 days. Justice Jawad Hassan passed the order allowing petitions of the PTI and others, seeking directions for the governor and the ECP to immediately announce a date for the provincial assembly elections.
The court had directed the Election Commission to immediately announce the date for elections after consultation with the governor, in his capacity as the constitutional head of the province.
