PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to suspend the Jail Bharo Movement after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections in 90 days.
Imran Khan welcomed the Supreme Court order, saying it was an assertion of rule of law in Pakistan. Imran Khan then announced to suspend the Jail Bharo Movement so that PTI can launch an election campaign in KP and Punjab.
Read more: PTI leaders voluntarily surrender as Jail Bharo Tehreek begins
“We welcome the Supreme Court’s judgement. It was the responsibility of the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution and they have valiantly done that through their judgement today. It is an assertion of rule of law in Pakistan. We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement and moving forward with election campaigns in KP and Punjab,” Imran Khan said.
We welcome the SC judgement. It was responsibility of SC to uphold Constitution & they have valiantly done that through their judgement today. It is an assertion of Rule of Law in Pak. We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement & moving forward with elec campaigns in KP & Punjab.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 1, 2023
It is pertinent to mention here that PTI commenced ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ (court arrest movement) from Lahore as the party’s senior leaders including Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Azam Swati voluntarily surrendered themselves to the law enforces.
The ‘court arrest’ drive was launched in protest over “violations of the fundamental rights”, “abuse of the Constitution”, “unprecedented inflation” and “economic meltdown”.
SC orders elections in 90 days
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days.
In a split verdict today, the Supreme Court asked the president to consult with the Election Commission of Pakistan and fix a date for elections in Punjab while the governor KP was ordered to announce a date for the election in the province.
The SC had taken the suo motu notice of an apparent delay in the elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on February 23, following President Arif Alvi’s announcement of the date of polls, a move that drew strong criticism from the government.
Previously, the case was being heard by the nine-member bench but it split on Monday into a five-judge bench after four judges – Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah – recused themselves from hearing the case.
Read more: Four SC judges bow out of suo motu hearing on KP, Punjab election