Pakistan Defence Ministry Moves SC, Urges Withdrawal Of May 14 Polls Due To Security Concerns

A three-member bench is expected to take up the reports today and hear the matter in the open court on Wednesday or Thursday. 

Pakistan defence ministry askes Supreme Court to withdraw order for May 14 Punjab polls. (Representational Image)

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The Defence Ministry of Pakistan has moved the Supreme Court requesting it to recall its April 4 order to hold elections on May 14 for Punjab Assembly, for which the hearing is likely to take place today.

As per a report by the Dawn, the request was made through an application along with a report, laid before the Supreme Court in compliance with its directives to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and other departments to furnish reports after releasing Rs 21 billion to the ECP for holding elections to the Punjab and KP assemblies.

A three-member bench is expected to take up the reports today and hear the matter in the open court on Wednesday or Thursday. 

In its application to the apex court, the defence ministry requested to issue directives that general election and poll to all the provincial assemblies be held simultaneously upon the completion of the terms of the national assembly along with the assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan. 

“Due to the prevalent security situation and counter-terrorism operations being carried out in KP and Balochistan as well as the intelligence-based operations in Punjab and Sindh, the armed forces, Rangers, Frontier Constabulary and other forces are not logistically available to be repositioned and re-posted for providing election security, twice in a span of six months,” the report said.

The report stated the same contentions as expressed by the Inter-Services Intelligence chief director general of military operations and the defence secretary presented to the chief justice and two other judges during a nearly three-hour in-chamber briefing on Monday, according to the Dawn report. 

“Significant time is required to prepare the members of the armed forces for the election duty, given much of the force has been actively engaged in operations for a considerable period of time,” the application said, adding the security situation in Punjab and Sindh has been stable in the light of the efforts of the ongoing operations in KP and Balochistan, respectively.

The elections for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies were necessitated after ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced in December last year to dissolve his government in the two provinces.