PA speaker to move court to against Punjab caretaker govt

LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan has decided to approach the Supreme Court (SC) for removing the caretaker government, ARY News reported on Friday.

PA Speaker Sibtain Khan said in a statement that the caretaker government completed its tenure of 90 days and lost its legal status. He added that they will approach the SC to seek alternative arrangements for Punjab.

Khan said that the tenure of Punjab’s caretaker set-up expires on April 22 after the completion of its constitutional period.

Earlier in the month, President Dr Arif Alvi sent the prime minister a letter from Chaudhry Fawad Ahmed asking him to look into the issues raised by the former federal minister to uphold the constitution and strengthen democracy in the country.

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In his letter to the president, Chaudhary Fawad Ahmed raised issues with regard to the legality of the interim setups in the two provinces of the country.

He had said that the interim governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had completed their stipulated period and the constitution did not provide for the continuation /extension of the period fixed for the interim setup, the state news agency reported.

Fawad had further stated that caretaker governments were introduced as per Article 224 of the Constitution to facilitate the Election Commission of Pakistan in holding free, fair, just, and honest elections in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

In his letter, President Dr Arif Alvi asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to examine the matter to ensure the upholding of the constitution and strengthening of democracy in Pakistan.