Time to put the country on path of law, Constitution.

ISLAMABAD  -  A day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) failed to give the Supreme Court a final date for the upcoming general elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) urged caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to ensure timely polls in the country.

ECP Director General (Law) Mu­hammad Arshad on Tuesday failed to give the top court a certain date for the polls during hearing of a delimita­tion case pertaining to Sindh constit­uencies; PS-7, PS-8, and PS-9 Shikar­pur. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial inquired when the general elections were being held. To this, the director general shrugged his shoulders. “As yet, no date for the elec­tions has been decided. The election commission should resolve all issues before the polls,” the CJP remarked.

In a letter to the interim prime min­ister, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mah­mood Qureshi told Kakar that his par­ty intended to challenge the decision made by the Council of Common In­terests (CCI) in the court. On August 5, the CCI had ‘unanimously’ approved the 7th Population and Housing Cen­sus results, making it almost certain that the general elections — which were to be held in November after the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9 — would not be held dur­ing the current year. “Time has come to put the country on the path of law and the constitution,” he added.

Qureshi also felicitated Kakar for being appointed as the caretaker prime minister and extended his party’s cooperation to him in ful­filling the “great responsibility” as­signed to him. Mentioning the PDM government’s governance, Qureshi said, “The constitution is on the verge of complete destruction.” He said the previous government used the state intuitions to escape from accountability and added that the former rulers’ behaviour caused massive damage to the foundations of the state. He also accused the for­mer PDM government of using the state instituitions to oust the PTI from the election arena.

“PTI chairman is kept in Attock prison in very inhuman conditions,” Qureshi said and added he was de­prived of the basic rights promised in the Constitution and jail laws. He told the interim prime minister that over 10,000 PTI workers were currently behind bars. It is essential for the credibility of polls that a ‘level play­ing field’ should be provided to all the political parties and candidates in the upcoming general elections, Qureshi demanded. He was of the view that the foundation of democracy is based on the citizens’ right to vote.