ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan has suspended the Lahore High Court (LHC) order on the appointment of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy, which cast uncertainty over holding of general elections in the country which were scheduled for February 8, 2024, yesterday.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Sardar Tariq Masood announced the order on a petition by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) challenging the LHC’s order suspending the appointment of ROs and DROs.

In the petition, the electoral watchdog has prayed to Supreme Court to declare LHC’s verdict “null and void” and ensure that its order on staging general elections on Feb 8 is followed.

While halting the Lahore High Court (LHC) order that suspended the appointment of ROs and DROs from bureaucracy, the Pakistan top court directed the electoral watchdog to issue the election schedule by tonight.

The Pakistan Supreme Court also issued a contempt of court notice to Barrister Umair Niazi – who filed the petition on behalf of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – seeking an explanation as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him. Reading out the order for yesterday’s hearing, CJP Isa said that the LHC order stood suspended and additionally halted all proceedings on the PTI petition.

“LHC judge Najafi had intervened the operations of electoral officers with a [mere] stroke of a pen and had failed to realise that they would be performing their duties throughout the country,” the chief justice said.

The top judge noted that the LHC judge had acted “well beyond” the high court’s territorial jurisdiction and “in undue haste at the eleventh hour”.

He ordered for the PTI plea to be forwarded to the apex court to determine its maintainability, saying that the SC would hear the petition itself if it deemed it appropriate.

“The petition as filed appears not to be maintainable,” the chief justice observed.

CJP Isa also instructed the election commission to “do its job” and issue the election schedule by tonight.

The hearing was subsequently adjourned for an indefinite time after notices were issued to the federal and provincial governments and the ECP petition was admitted for hearing.

On Wednesday night, Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Ali Baqir Najafi suspended an ECP decision to appoint election staff, including returning officers (ROs), from the bureaucracy.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 16 2023

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