Law officer seeks more time to promulgate ordinance for polls. PHOTO: REUTERS
The three-judge bench of the apex court expressed its dissatisfaction over the Attorney General for Pakistan’s (AGP) response regarding the contempt plea against the prime minister for not holding Local Government (LG) elections in cantonment areas.
When AGP Salman Aslam Butt on Tuesday read out the court’s January 8 order in which it had directed the federal government to promulgate the ordinance for empowering the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to carry out delimitation in cantonment areas and submit a compliance report within seven days, the bench observed that this is enough for issuing notice to the prime minister “as our order has not been implemented so far”.
The Supreme Court’s (SC) three-judge bench – comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Maqbool Baqar – resumed the hearing of a contempt plea, filed by Raja Rab Nawaz advocate against the PM Nawaz for not implementing the court’s March 19, 2014 verdict to hold the LG polls in cantonment areas.
The petitioner on October 18, 2014 filed contempt petition against the prime minister. The LG polls have not been held in cantonment areas for the last 17 years.
Last week, the court had summoned the AGP to assist it in determining whether the court’s order has been violated or not in this matter.
During the hearing, AGP, however, requested the bench to give some time as the Senate’s session is going on and the government could not promulgate the ordinance at this moment, adding that whenever the session of the upper house will prorogue, the ordinance will be promulgated within 24 hours as the draft is already ready.
He stated that due to parliament’s sessions, the government could not promulgate the ordinance in the last two months. Earlier, a bill was presented before parliament on the same issue but the Standing Committee on Defence had raised objection over it, he added.
The bench while rejecting his stance has summoned Raja Rub Nawaz advocate on Wednesday (today) to hear his point of view regarding the alleged contempt of court in this matter.
When the AG insisted to give further arguments, the bench asked him to give such clarifications in response to the notice against the prime minister.
Justice Khawaja lamented that a constitutional amendment has been passed overnight but this ordinance is not promulgated for several months.
It is to be noted that the federal government on February 24 promulgated the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015.
Meanwhile, the bench also expressed dissatisfaction over the ECP’s proposed dates for holding LG polls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Punjab and Sindh.
Acting Secretary ECP Shair Afgan submitting a timeframe for holding LG polls in the three provinces said that the commission will announce election schedule on April 6 and elections will be held on June 8 in K-P.
He also submitted that schedule of LG polls in Punjab will be announced on November 16 and the polling will be held on January 10, 2016. Similarly, in Sindh the elections schedule will be announced on February 22, 2016 and polling will be conducted on April 30.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2015.
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