President Arif Alvi on Thursday expressed concern over the term of caretaker governments in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa exceeding 90 days and sent PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry’s letter written in this regard to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with an additional note.
PTI Chairman and former premier Imran Khan had dissolved both the provincial assemblies in January this year in a bid to force the federal government to hold snap elections.
As the caretaker set-ups in Punjab and K-P are set to complete their 90-day term on April 22, Fawad on Sunday wrote a letter to President Alvi requesting him to ask the apex court to stop any violation of “mandatory constitutional commands”.
“This is to draw your kind attention towards the breach of mandatory constitutional commands by the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” read the letter.
Fawad said under Article-224 of the Constitution caretaker governments are installed for 90 days in order to ensure fair and transparent elections.
Read Punjab elections on May 14 can lead to chaos, ECP tells SC
He noted that the interim set-ups in both the provinces had completed their constitutional time period. He added that the Constitution did not provide for continuation or extension of the period fixed for the interim set-ups.
In his additional note, President Alvi asked the premier to consider the issues raised by the former federal minister to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and strengthening of democracy in the country.
On Wednesday the PTI filed a formal application with the Supreme Court on behalf of former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and former K-P Chief Minister Mehmood Khan.
The application sought immediate removal of the caretaker chief ministers upon the completion of their constitutional term and requested that they be barred from exercising their powers.
The former ruling party also requested the apex court to establish a procedure for supervising the daily affairs of Punjab and K-P until the formation of elected governments following general elections.
The petition made the federal government a party to the case through the secretaries of interior, finance, and law and justice.
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