LAHORE: PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday announced suspending the party’s Jail Bharo Tehreek (court arrest movement) in a move welcoming the Supreme Court’s 3-2 verdict of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be held within 90 days. He said the party was suspending its “Jail Bharo movement and moving forward with election campaigns in KP and Punjab”. Imran further said, “It was the responsibility of the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution and they have valiantly done that through their judgment today. It is an assertion of Rule of Law in Pakistan.”
In the written verdict yesterday, the top court held that in situations where a governor dissolved a provincial assembly, the constitutional responsibility of appointing a date for the election was to be discharged by the governor.
“In situations where the assembly is not dissolved by order of the governor, the constitutional responsibility of appointing a date for the general election that must follow is to be discharged by the president.”
It went on to say that regarding the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, the constitutional responsibility for appointing a date for the general election was to be discharged by the president as the governor had refused to sign on the assembly dissolution summary.
But regarding the dissolution of the KP Assembly, the verdict continued, the constitutional responsibility for appointing a date for elections was to be discharged by the governor.
Later in the day, Imran announced that the party’s election campaign would begin on Saturday evening.
He called on party workers to venture forth in every district and hold corner meetings and rallies which Imran will address.
“I will tell the nation how to get out of the quagmire we are stuck in,” he said, adding that the government had no solution to the country’s issues or any “roadmap”.
Imran said he would present a roadmap on Saturday about what steps need to be taken in the future to take the country out of its current situation.
The PTI chief also hailed today’s SC verdict and said his party would continue to support the apex court. –Agencies
