LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday sought a progress report from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the announcement of a date for elections in Punjab by February 23.
The court was proceeding with a petition of a bar member, Munir Ahmad, seeking contempt proceedings against governor of Punjab and chief election commissioner (CEC) for not announcing the date for the election as directed by the court on February 10.
Earlier the petitioner’s counsel contended that the respondents were not complying with the judgment of the court in true perspective. Therefore, he said, the situation demanded action under Article 204 of the Constitution. The court asked the counsel what was contemptuous in the matter as the judgment in question had been passed on February 10 and according to a law officer, pursuant to the court’s directions, the ECP was convening meetings on day-to-day basis for consultation with the governor and in this regard a meeting was also held today.
“Why are you showing so much haste? Don’t you trust the court?” the court asked the petitioner’s counsel. The counsel, however, said the ECP issued a press release, which suggested that the commission had no intention to give a date for the election. The court said that the ECP had a statutory time period of 20 days to file appeal against the judgment. The counsel at this sought time to seek fresh instructions from his client in order to further assist the court. The court therefore adjourned the proceedings till next hearing.
The petitioner contended in his petition that the respondents failed to comply with the court directions and asked the court to initiate proceedings against the respondents for committing contempt of court. The court had directed the ECP to announce the elections date to the Punjab Assembly after consultation with the governor immediately.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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