JI wants SC full court to decide Punjab, K-P poll delay case

Baloch notes political tensions and economic crisis are exacerbating tendency towards vengeance, extremism in society

KARACHI:

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has called for a full court bench to hear the case on holding elections for the provincial assemblies of K-P and Punjab. Speaking to the media in Hyderabad during a ration distribution event on Saturday, JI Ameer Liaquat Baloch said, "The chief justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial should not act with willfulness like the politicians do. Rather, he [CJP] should give decisions on the controversial political and constitutional matters so that the country can be pulled out of crises."

Baloch noted that political tensions and the economic crisis are exacerbating the tendency towards vengeance and extremism in society. Commenting on the recusal of two judges from the bench hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) petition for holding elections in Punjab, Baloch expressed concern over the apparent rifts among the superior judiciary, stating that the country could be plunged into further chaos if burning political matters are handled with ego and stubbornness. Baloch went on to criticise the coalition government in the centre, accusing them of being incapable and indifferent to the plight of the people affected by unprecedented inflation.

He considered all the relief measures of the government as cosmetic and argued that a government that cannot even properly distribute subsidised flour can never efficiently run the country. The JI leader called on the leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to acknowledge their failure in the centre, Sindh, and Balochistan. On the occasion, he reiterated his party's demand that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should be made a completely autonomous and financially independent entity.

He said that only free, fair, and transparent general elections can offer a solution to the crisis the country is facing. He warned that any controversial decision by the apex court could push the country into further trouble.