Key Takeaways
- The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rescheduled two cases against PkMAP for October 6.
- The cases involve the non-conduct of intra-party elections and the party’s constitution.
- Three cases in total are pending with the ECP against PkMAP.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rescheduled two cases against the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) for October 6, according to a notice issued on Monday. The cases, which were initially scheduled for hearing on September 24, were de-listed due to the unavailability of the bench.
The rescheduled cases involve the non-conduct of intra-party elections and the party’s constitution. A third case related to PkMAP’s financial accounts remains pending.
The rescheduling comes at a time when PkMAP’s chief, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, also heads the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of several opposition parties, which supports the long march announced by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) beginning on September 27.
Earlier this month, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja warned that the ECP would issue a ‘unilateral’ decision in two of the three cases related to PkMAP if the defence side failed to submit the related replies. These warnings were made during a hearing on September 1.
During the hearing, the defence counsel informed the ECP bench that similar cases related to PkMAP were pending in the Balochistan High Court (BHC), and the court had issued a stay order in the case regarding non-conduct of PkMAP intra-party elections.
ECP officials confirmed that the BHC had issued a stay order in the PKMAP intra-party polls case but contended that the remaining two cases related to the amended constitution and the accounts of PkMAP were pending in the said court without any stay order.
The CEC directed the defence lawyer to submit replies to the ECP’s objections in the two cases in which stay orders were not issued by the BHC.
