Justice Athar Minallah, a Supreme Court judge, has emphasised that any delay in holding general elections beyond the mandated 90-day timeframe for dissolving assemblies constitutes the "most grave violation of the Constitution" and denies the constitutional rights of the people.
Earlier this month, the top court mandated that polls would take place on February 8 next year, following a consensus reached between President Dr Arif Alvi and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja during their meeting.
Heading a three-member bench overseeing petitions for elections in the country, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had asserted the people's right to a general election and cautioned media outlets against creating ambiguity. "The election issue has been resolved with the consent of all parties. The general election date of February 8 has been agreed upon. Let there be no misunderstanding, as we have now given the date of the elections," remarked Chief Justice Isa.
Read more: SC sets election date in stone
Justice Minallah, in a 41-page note related to the election case which surfaced on Thursday, declared that even a single-day delay in conducting the election "amounted to suspension of the Constitution." He emphasised that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must ensure fair, free, and transparent elections that are perceived as such by every citizen.
"The framers of the Constitution created the offense of high treason under Article 6 with the expectation that it would function as a formidable deterrence. However, events following the promulgation of the Constitution have shown that the offense, instead of creating deterrence, has been reduced to a mere platitude," said Justice Minallah.
The judge criticised President Arif Alvi, governors, and the ECP for not resolving the impasse, stating that their failure contravened constitutional duties. He noted that the president and governors failed in their duty to promptly appoint a date for general elections, as required under Article 48(5), leading to a violation of legal rights and constitutional commands.
Read: PML-N expects elections in January
“The President, upon dissolution of the National Assembly, failed in his duty to promptly appoint a date for the general elections as required under Article 48(5) and instead wrote a belated letter to the Commission for consultation. The latter, despite being the creation of the Constitution, refused consultation with a constitutional office and instead chose to write a letter based on its own interpretation which was in reckless disregard to the express provisions of the Constitution and the Act of 2017,” the additional note stated.
The jurist said that the general elections to the National Assembly and the other two provinces (Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) cannot be held within the specified time because the strict liability imposed under the Constitution and the Act of 2017 upon the president, governors and the commission have been breached.
“The legal rights of the people have been violated so has been the Constitutional command. It appears that the neutrality of the exalted offices of the President and Governors were compromised.”
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