Islamabad: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, has started hearing the review petition brought by the ECP against the apex court’s decision to hold elections in Punjab on May 14.
Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan are also on the bench that is hearing the petitions. This is the same bench that gave the order on April 4.
The election watchdog told the highest court that it couldn’t hold elections. It was because of safety worries and a lack of money.
It then asked the court to change its decision by filing a “review petition.” This time, the group’s claim was that the apex court didn’t have the power to decide when the elections would be held.
At yesterday’s hearing, the bench told the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan and the ECP legal counsel Sajeel Shehryar Swati that it had no plans to use the government’s past acts against it.
CJP Bandial had also criticised the ECP for not telling the president enough about what was going on, and he had asked the commission why it hadn’t told the president what it was telling the court now.
