Islamabad HC rejects Imran Khan-led party's plea to postpone tomorrow's Senate polls

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court on Monday rejected a plea by jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party to delay the elections of chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

Five senators from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Monday filed the petition and claimed the current Senate was incomplete as the polls for the upper house of Parliament were not held in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the holding of election for the chairman and his deputy would be 'unconstitutional'.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq decided to hear the petition despite objections raised by the register because the Peshawar High Court was hearing a similar petition.

During the hearing, PTI's counsel Shoaib Shaheen said it would be better if the elections, scheduled for Tuesday, were held after Eid. “What could go wrong if the elections are held after Eid?” he asked.

The chief justice after hearing the argument reserved judgment which was announced later on. He later rejected the plea to delay the polls.

Meanwhile, the PTI has decided to boycott the elections to choose the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate. The move comes as the party has no chance of winning the election.

Former premier Yusuf Raza Gilani, who belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is poised to become the chairman of the Senate as a joint candidate of the ruling alliance.

The PPP supports the Shehbaz Sharif government in return for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s support of its candidates for president and senate chairman.

Asif Ali Zardari has already been elected as the President.

Earlier, the PTI in the plea asked to postpone the chairman and deputy chairman polls until the election for KP's Senate seats.

Separately, the party through a letter addressed to the Senate secretary expressed concern regarding the alleged 'deprivation' of its legitimate right to participate in the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the upper house.

PTI quoted Article 59 of the Constitution and said the Senate is to comprise 96 members, with 23 elected from each province and four from ICT.

The party also claimed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not fulfil its constitutional duty, and postponed the Senate polls in KP till April 2.

The letter pleaded to stop the elections of chairman and deputy chairman until a constitutionally mandated number of 96 members is reached and KP elections are held.

The provincial election commissioner on April 2 postponed the senate elections in KP due to a dispute over the oath of members elected on reserved seats.

Meanwhile, President Zardari summoned a session of the Senate on April 9 so that the newly elected upper house lawmakers could be sworn in.