LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday refused to issue restraining order against the Senate election and allowed an opportunity to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other respondents to submit their replies by March 25 to a petition of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) against a decision depriving the party of its reserved seats.

The court; however, observed that it would not be appropriate to pass any order without going through the replies of respondents. The SIC’s counsel asked the court to suspend the schedule for the election of the senate.

A law officer on behalf of the federal government and others on behalf of the Punjab; however, sought time to furnish replies on behalf of the respondents and the court adjourned the proceedings accordingly.

Petitioner Chairman SIC Sahibzada Hamid Raza contended that the ECP misconstrued and misapplied the provisions of Articles 51 and 106 of the Constitution as well as Section 104 of the Elections Act, 2017. He said the entire emphasis of the ECP was on the election schedule and the date fixed for submitting the priority list for reserved seats.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024