House resolutions demand same day polls

ISLAMABAD:

In a concerted move, resolutions calling for general elections across the country on the same day were rushed though the joint session of parliament, the Senate and Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.

The resolutions rejected the Supreme Court verdict ordering early polls in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to comply with the constitutional provision of 90 days.

The caretaker cabinet of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa demanded simultaneous elections of the National and provincial assemblies in the country.

The cabinet also expressed its reservations over the Supreme Court’s order for holding the elections of the Punjab Assembly in May as the same would impact the National Assembly election in that province.

It asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the elections of both National and provincial assemblies under the Election Act on the same day.

In Quetta, the Balochistan Assembly passed a resolution regarding holding the elections of the National and Provincial Assemblies on the same day.

The session was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali. Provincial Minister of Home and Tribal Affairs, Mir Ziaullah Langu presented a resolution to hold the elections of National and Provincial Assemblies simultaneously in the whole country.

The Sindh Assembly adopted a resolution to hold the elections of the national and provincial assemblies at the same time across the country under caretaker governments.

"Under Article 176 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court comprises of chief justice and other judges and power under Article 184 vests with the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan not with only a particular judge,” stated the resolution.

The resolution, moved by PPP MPA Ghanwer Ali Isran, stated that the recent controversy over the Supreme Court’s decision to take suo motu notice on the issue of elections in Punjab and K-P.

Read: Top court puts its foot down sets May 14 as date for Punjab polls

The resolutions came as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar tabled the Money Bill 2023 before the National Assembly (NA) to decide and discuss funds allocation for the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) elections.

The two identical resolutions were moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Senator Kamran Murtaza, aimed to promote political stability and foster unity among the provinces.

The resolutions – expressing the will of the parliamentarians – emphasized the significance of neutral caretaker set-ups under Article 224 to ensure impartiality and fairness during the elections.

The parliamentarians were of the view that organizing general elections of all the assemblies simultaneously, in accordance with Article 218, was crucial to attain genuine political and economic stability.

The resolutions also argued that holding separate elections in Punjab would inevitably impact the outcome of more than 50 per cent of the National Assembly seats in general elections. Therefore, it could potentially marginalize the smaller provinces’ role in the federation.

Meanwhile, the Senate resolution, which was moved by senators including Tahir Bizenjo, Manzoor Kakar, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Taj Haider, Rana Maqbool, Faisal Sabzwari, Shafique Tareen and Bahramand Tangi, aimed to promote political stability and foster unity among the provinces.

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators staged a token walkout from the House.

(With additional input from APP)