Fawad slams ECP for delaying meeting on Punjab polls

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not holding a meeting on Punjab general elections on Sunday despite court orders.

Fawad, in a Tweet, said: “The Election Commission should have held a meeting today for the polls, don’t make a joke of the Constitution and court orders.”

Further criticising the commission, Fawad claimed that the “general impression” is that since the ECP is made up of “Munshis” (clerks or personal assistants), it will not hold provincial elections like it did in Islamabad.

“This fiddling with the Constitution will cost the country dearly,” warned the former information minister.

Fawad told the ECP that the Constitution is the only agreed document and if that is also “trampled, then the state of Pakistan will be in serious danger”.

“Enough is enough, our movement for the supremacy of the Constitution is ready. This movement will start with Jail Bharo [movement] and will continue till the restoration of the Constitution,” said the PTI leader. It should be noted that PTI Chairman Imran Khan on February 6 announced the “Jail Bharo” (fill up the prisons) movement over the delay in the announcement of the election schedule in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). “If the elections are not held within 90 days, we will start the Jail Bharo movement,” Khan had warned.

LHC directs ECP to hold Punjab elections within 90 days

On Friday, LHC directed the ECP to ensure that polls in Punjab are held within 90 days.

Announcing the reserved verdict, Justice Jawad Hassan accepted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) plea and asked the electoral body to stage the polls within the constitutional limit.

The PTI moved the high court after repeatedly demanding that the election commission issue the dates for the elections in Punjab. The party dissolved the provincial assembly on January 14.

"...the ECP is directed to immediately announce the date of election of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab with the notification specifying reasons, after consultation with the Governor of Punjab, being the constitutional Head of the Province, to ensure that the elections are held not later than ninety days as per the mandate of the Constitution," the judgment read.