Daily Times

Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman decided on Tuesday to approach the Lahore High Court (LHC) to seek clarity over his role in the consultative process for the election date in the province.

In a statement, issued after a meeting was held on the LHC’s directives to finalise the date for the election, Baligh Ur Rehman’s spokesperson said that there were some issues in the high court’s order that required “clarification and interpretation”. “After consultation with legal and constitutional experts, the matter will be referred to the court,” said the spokesperson after meeting an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) delegation.

Last week, the LHC had ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately announce the date for elections in Punjab while announcing its verdict on a plea filed by the PTI against the delay in holding polls.

In the wake of the LHC ruling, the ECP had formed a three-member panel to consult the Punjab governor who had summoned a “consultative meeting” to decide the matter.

According to a press release from the Governor’s House today, Rehman presided over the consultative meeting and said certain issues in the LHC verdict, as well as aspects of the governor’s advisory role, needed some “interpretation and clarification”. He said the court would be approached about the matter after consulting with constitutional and legal experts.

The meeting was attended by ECP Secretary Umer Hameed, Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar and other officials.

Meanwhile, in a handout released after the meeting, the electoral watchdog quoted the governor as saying that since the provincial assembly was not dissolved on his orders, under the constitution he was not authorised to give an election date. According to the press release, the governor further told the ECP that his proposal would not be binding on the commission in such a situation.

The press release further said that the governor did not want to take any extra-constitutional step and thus refrained from giving a date for provincial elections. Separately, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja summoned a consultative meeting of the ECP on Wednesday (today) at 12pm at the ECP Secretariat pertaining to the provincial assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Punjab and KP assemblies – where the PTI had governments – were dissolved on January 14 and January 18, respectively, in an attempt to pave the way for snap polls. On Jan 24, the ECP wrote letters to the principal secretaries of Punjab and KP governors, suggesting elections in Punjab between April 9 and 13, and in KP between April 15 and 17. The PTI had on Jan 27 approached the LHC seeking orders for the Punjab governor to immediately announce a date for an election in the province. The LHC had subsequently directed the ECP to immediately announce the date for elections after consultation with the governor, in his capacity as the constitutional head of the province.