ISLAMABAD (INP): President Dr Arif Alvi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday emphasising that he should direct all the executive authorities concerned with federal and provincial governments to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in holding general elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa within the constitutional timeframe.
Through the letter, the president has conveyed to the premier that holding general elections in the two provinces was necessary to comply with an order of the Supreme Court issued on March 1, saying the order should be abided by to avoid further complications, including contempt of court proceedings.
Without mincing any words, Dr Alvi underlined that in his opinion “flagrant violation of the Constitution had been committed by the executive authorities and government departments”. He added that ECP had not implemented his announcement of holding general elections in Punjab on April 30, 2023, and also “blatantly violated the Supreme Court’s order dated 1st March 2023.”
Also, President Alvi alleged that “it appeared that federal and caretaker governments in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa advised the heads of concerned departments to indicate their inability to provide the necessary support for holding general elections.”
He referred to Article 220 of the Constitution which states that “it shall be the duty of all executive authorities in the federation and in the provinces to assist the commissioner and the Election Commission in the discharge of his or their functions”.
The president’s letter has come after the ECP announced on March 22 to delay the election in Punjab until October 8 on the grounds that it could not conduct transparent and peaceful polls on the scheduled date of April 30.
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