JI formally moves plea to SC for elections in 90 days

Islamabad: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Tuesday formally moved a plea to the Supreme Court  seeking directives for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure that national elections would be conducted within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

Liaquat Baloch of the JI moved the petition.

This is a third instance of such a petition reaching the highest court. Previously, members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Abid S. Zubairi, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, had presented identical pleas before the apex court.

The PTI's plea specified that the Supreme Court should additionally compel the ECP to formulate the timetable for the impending general elections.

The highest court was formally requested to invalidate the decision made by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in relation to the 2023 delimitation process and census, deeming it null and void.

It's worth mentioning that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had publicized its stance that conducting general elections within 90 days is not a feasible task. The ECP, in accordance with its position, has decided to align the upcoming general elections with the 2023 census.

As per the ECP, the commission is legally obliged to carry out the delimitation procedure. The initial publication is scheduled for October 9, followed by the final publication on December 14.