Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto has reached Lahore following the Supreme Court (SC) verdict of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be held within 90 days.
Sources told media that the PPP Chairman’s three-day visit meant to be heavily invested in consolidating party’s footing in Punjab.
Sources claimed that FM Bilawal Bhutto would consult with party leaders on the apex court’s verdict. The PPP leadership would also consult on the preparations over the upcoming elections in the province, they added.
Meanwhile, the party leadership would also finalise candidates for Punjab Assembly elections. Moreover, the foreign minister is likely to meet leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The Supreme Court, in a 3-2 verdict, ruled on Wednesday that elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab should be held within 90 days. CJP Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar supported the verdict, while Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah opposed the admissibility of the suo moto notice and dissented from the majority verdict.
Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail in their dissenting notes agreed with the position of Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Athar Minallah. “The matter was already being heard in the high courts, Supreme Court cannot take suo moto notice on the undertrial cases in the high courts.”
