SC to take up case of simultaneous polls today

Islamabad: The case of simultaneous elections in the country and the implementation of April 4 verdict will be heard today (Thursday) by a three-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandial.

Yesterday, the registrar's office of Supreme Court delisted the cases before bench number one on the basis of chief justice's ill health and later issued a new roster.

According to the new roster, Chief Justice Umar Atta will hold chamber work till 11:30 this morning, after which a three-member special bench headed by Chief Justice Umar, comprising Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar, will hear the cases.

Earlier on April 4, a bench headed by CJP Justice Umar Atta Bandial comprising Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar had ordered the government to provide Rs21 billion by April 27 in the simultaneous election case.

In the previous hearing, Supreme Court asked all political leaders to negotiate on elections and update on the progress. However, after in-chamber consultations, the CJP adjourned the hearing till April 27.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Babar Awan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ata Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Farooq H Naek, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Latif Khosa, federal ministers Ayaz Sadiq, Azam Nazir Tarar, Saad Rafique, Tariq Basheer Cheema, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq were present in the courtroom.