ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Friday ordered a regulator to issue a schedule for general elections tonight and suspended a Lahore High Court (LHC) ruling that had stayed the appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy.
The development comes a day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) paused, following the Lahore High Court verdict, a training session for ROs and DROs, an exercise without which polls scheduled for Feb. 8 could be delayed. The move had led to widespread media speculation elections would not be held in time as the election regulator needs to issue the elections schedule by Friday night in order for political parties to have a 54-day window for electioneering.
“Do your job,” Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa ordered the ECP on Friday, suspending the Lahore High Court order. “Issue the elections schedule tonight ... We will not allow anybody to derail the democracy.”
In the evening, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja held a detailed meeting with the chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court to reportedly discuss the Lahore High Court directive and ensuing situation. Later, the ECP filed a petition in the top court seeking an annulment of the Lahore High Court’s judgment.
The court also issued a contempt notice to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Barrister Umair Khan Niazi who had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking the appointment of returning officers from the judiciary. The ECP has appointed over one thousand returning officers across the country to conduct the national polls. Their job is to ensure that the election process is administered effectively to ensure free and fair elections.
The top court later stopped the Lahore High Court from further hearings on the plea, saying it had passed the judgment in ‘undue haste,’ and adjourned the hearing for an indefinite time.
A caretaker government under interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is running the country until the national election is held and a winning party can secure a parliamentary majority and select a new prime minister.
As it stands, questions surround the legitimacy of the election, whenever it is held, as former prime minister Imran Khan, the main opposition leader and arguably the country’s most popular politician, cannot fight this election.
Khan is currently jailed for three years after being convicted on graft charges and is barred from contesting any elections for five years.
His party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), won the last general election in 2018, and he became prime minister until his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022.
Pakistan’s top court directs regulator to issue general election schedule tonight
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Pakistan’s top court directs regulator to issue general election schedule tonight
- Supreme Court order puts an end to speculations regarding delay in holding of general elections
- Bars Lahore High Court from further hearings of plea on appointment of returning officers from judiciary
Pakistan, Muslim countries reject Israel’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza
- Israel has announced plans to open the Rafah crossing with Egypt for Gaza residents fleeing the enclave
- Muslim nations seek implementation of Trump’s peace plan, establishment of independent Palestinian state
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, together with seven other Arab and Muslim countries, on Friday rejected Israel’s attempt to expel Palestinians by opening the Rafah border crossing with Egypt solely for fleeing Gaza residents, and called for adherence to the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump’s Gaza plan calls on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the territory and keep the Rafah crossing open from both sides.
However, Israel has continued to restrict aid flows, and its military said on Wednesday the crossing would open in the coming days “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt.”
“The Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the State of Qatar express their deep concern regarding the Israeli statements concerning the opening of the Rafah Crossing in one direction, with the aim of transferring residents of the Gaza Strip into the Arab Republic of Egypt,” said the joint statement circulated in Pakistan by the foreign office.
“The Ministers underscore their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land and stress the necessity of the full adherence to the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, including its provisions on keeping the Rafah Crossing open in both directions, ensuring the freedom of movement for the population, and refraining from compelling any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave,” it continued.
The statement appreciated the US president’s commitment to establishing peace in the region and emphasized the importance of implementing his plan “without delay or obstruction” to help consolidate regional stability.
“The Ministers underscore the need to fully sustain the ceasefire, alleviate civilian suffering, ensure the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip, initiate early recovery and reconstruction efforts, and create the conditions necessary for the Palestinian Authority to resume its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
They reaffirmed their countries’ readiness to work with the United States and all concerned regional and international actors to achieve “a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in accordance with international legitimacy and the two-state solution,” including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Pakistan’s foreign office circulated the statement after Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss regional developments, particularly Gaza.
Dar condemned Israel’s plan to partially reopen the Rafah crossing only for fleeing Gaza residents, calling it a “clear violation” of the region’s peace plan.
