ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah dropped a hit of imposition ofemergency in the country as standoff deepens between the government andjudiciary over delay in elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The constitution provides an option of emergency, he told media outside theSupreme Court after a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar AtaBandial ordered holding of elections in Punjab on May 14. The apex courtalso declared the ECP order to put off the polls unconstitutional.
The Article 232 of Constitution of Pakistan allows the President ofPakistan to impose a state of emergency when he is satisfied a situationexists that warrants its declaration. In the case that a President ofPakistan declares a State of Emergency, the National Assembly has toapprove it within 30 days.
Rana Sanaullah said, “That article has not gone anywhere as it is part ofthe constitution.”
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Meanwhile, the federal cabinet has reportedly rejected the top court’sverdict regarding elections in Punjab, saying it is inapplicable.
It is recalled that late military ruler Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf haddeclared emergency in the country in November 2007 when the constitution ofPakistan was suspended.
