Daily Times

The National Assembly (NA) on Thursday passed a resolution against the Supreme Court’s (SC) declaration that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone elections in Punjab was “illegal”.

The resolution, which also urged the prime minister not to abide by the ruling, was moved by Balochistan Awami Party legislator Khalid Magsi.

“This house rejects the minority decision of the three-member bench and binds the prime minister and the cabinet not to implement the unconstitutional and unlawful decision,” Magsi said.

The resolution stated that the house considers the conduct of general elections simultaneously across the country as the solution to all the problems.

It also said the house was concerned about “interference in political matters” and that the judgements of the “minority” are creating anarchy in the country and paving the way for division in the federating units.

The NA session was presided over by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and also attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The Supreme Court Tuesday nullified electoral watchdog’s decision about the delay in holding polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and fixed May 14 as the date for polls in the province.

The verdict was announced by a three-member bench — comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — on the PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order postponing the elections in Punjab and KP.