LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday gave an opportunity to the Punjab governor for filing a reply within five days to a petition seeking directions for announcement of a date for holding elections in the province. Justice Jawad Hassan heard the petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) through its General Secretary Asad Umar. As the proceedings started, the court addressed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) counsel and questioned when the elections would be held. The counsel replied that the ECP was ready for elections, adding that a development also took place in this regard, a day earlier, and the governor had replied to the letter of the commission. He submitted that the governor had written that the ECP should consult all stakeholders. The court observed “it had been written in the constitution that elections would be held within 90 days”, adding that there were a number of judgments of superior courts on the issue as well.
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To which, a federal law officer submitted that there was still plenty of time in completion of the 90 days period, adding that no one was saying that the elections would not be held. But, the court observed that the ECP should have given a date for holding the elections, adding that it was written in the constitution. To a court query, the PTI opposed the suggestion of formation of a full bench for hearing the matter. At this stage, a counsel for the Punjab governor sought time for filing a reply to the petition. He submitted that at least seven days should be given for filing the reply. However, Asad Umar, who was also present in the court, opposed the plea, saying that 22 days would have passed since the dissolution of the assembly, if seven days were given. However, the court observed that 4 or 5 days’ time did not make any difference. Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing till February 9 and directed the governor’s counsel to submit a reply within 5 days.
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