ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) categorically said that the Punjab Assembly elections were not possible on May 14th, the sources privy to the development said on Tuesday.
The electoral body, they said, also submitted three reports before the Supreme Court seized with the hearing of the petitions seeking the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They said that the ECP said there was no possibility of elections in Punjab on May 14 as the necessary arrangements were not possible by the designated date while the announcement about the elections and their cancellation was yet to be made next week.
A Supreme Court three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had earlier ordered the Election Commission for holding elections in Punjab on May 14. The top court had also directed the federal government to provide funds to the ECP for elections.
However, the events unfolded at the later stage showed that the federal government said that it did not have funds for the elections. The Defence Ministry filed a petition in the top court and asked it to review its previous orders.
The ECP’s response surfaced a day after the ministers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) opposed talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding elections in Punjab. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the nutshell of the problem was “September” as the PTI wanted to hold elections before it.
“The incumbent Chief Justice will retire in September,” said the minister while talking in a program of a local private TV.
He stated that they were in the favour of timely elections while the PTI wanted early elections in Punjab.
