The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced on Wednesday that it will commemorate the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling of fixing the date for the Punjab elections with a special day.
In a video message, the party’s chairman Imran Khan urged the entire nation to come out today and express gratitude for the apex court’s decision.
“I appeal to the entire nation, that you should stand with the Constitution and the verdict of the Supreme Court,” he said.
The former premier added that the people should give a message to the top court that the nation is standing with the judiciary, the Constitution and the rule of law.
In another message posted on the party’s official Twitter handle, the PTI stated that the celebration will take place after Tarawih prayers on Wednesday at designated places across the country.
The call for the celebration by the former ruling party comes after the top court on Tuesday declared as “unconstitutional” the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the election in Punjab, in a blow to the government that has been trying to delay the provincial election citing security issues and the economic crisis.
The three-member bench — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan — also fixed May 14 as the date for the poll in the province.
On March 22, the ECP had delayed the provincial assembly election in the politically crucial Punjab province by more than five months, citing the deteriorating security situation in the cash-starved country, a move criticised by Imran.
Following the ECP’s announcement, the PTI on March 25 had approached the SC against the electoral watchdog’s decision to delay the election in Punjab.
The hearings in the case, which lasted over a week, witnessed high drama after two judges of the original five-member bench — Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Aminuddin Khan — had rescused themselves from hearing the case. Thereafter, the chief justice constituted a bench comprising himself, Justice Ahsan and Justice Akhtar to proceed with the PTI petition.
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