AlvI orders eCP to hold eleCtIons In PunjAb And KP on APrIl 9

g Pdm lEadErs says PrEsidEnt

Could not announCE datE for ProvinCial assEmbliEs' Polls tHEpresident an- nounced that general elections for the parliaments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will take place on april 9, a day after the chief election commissioner declined point-blank his summon for an “urgent meeting” on the subject. the decision on monday to hold the elections in the two provinces follows the dissolution of their respective legislatures by Pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (Pti) governments at the behest of former prime minister imran Khan, ahead of the completion of their constitutionally-mandated five-year terms in october. according to a statement issued by the press wing of the presidency, the date for the general elections for the two parliaments has been set under section 57(1) of the Elections act, 2017. the law stipulates the g ECP summons ‘imPortant mEEting’ tuEsday (today) to disCuss PrEsidEnt’s announCEmEnt

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president shall “announce the date of the general elections after consultation with the [election] commission.” the release said President arif alvi has ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to “issue election programme in accordance with section 57(2) of the act.” the letter to sikander sultan raja, its chief, said the decision to hold the elections was made under section 57(1) of the Elections act, 2017. the president has, therefore, asked raja to issue the election programme under section 57(2) of the same law. alvi defended his announcement of the date by saying there was “no impediment in invoking the power and authority vested in him” as there was “no restraining order from any of the judicial fora”.

He also criticised baligh urrehman and Haji ghulam ali, the governors in Punjab and KP, for not performing their constitutional duties to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the

Imran gets protective bail till Mar 3 in terrorism case

LAHORE

Staff RepoRt a lahore High Court (lHC) division bench on monday granted protective bail to Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) Chairman imran Khan till march 3, in a terrorism case registered by sangjani Police (islamabad). the case was registered on charges of rioting and clashes with islamabad police in october in the aftermath of his disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan in the toshakhana reference. His plea for bail in another case — which was also registered in islamabad and pertained to protests outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) — was disposed of after the ex-premier withdrew his petition. the proceedings in both the petitions culminated only after the high court had to wait for hours and set multiple deadlines for imran to arrive. once the Pti chief reached the court premises, a number of his supporters had gathered around him. the lHC bench directed imran Khan to approach the court concerned till march 3, adding that the order would cease to have its legal effect after the said date. the division bench comprising Justice ali baqar najafi and Justice syed shahbaz ali rizvi passed the orders while disposing of a petition filed by imran Khan for protective bail. during the proceedings, Pti Chairman imran Khan appeared before the bench. imran’s counsel argued before the bench that sangjani police had registered a case against his client under section 341, 427, 353, 186, 147, 149, 188, 506, 109 of Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of anti-terrorism act.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03 date of dissolution of the assemblies.the president lambasted the commission for “not fulfilling its constitutional obligation for holding polls” of the assemblies concerned. He said the ECP had already indicated the possible dates for the elections in its various communications to the constitutional functionaries and that it was the commission’s responsibility to hold the elections within ninety days. ecP suMMons ‘iMPoRtant

He also revealed that he had initiated a “serious consultation process” with the ECP for the date announcement, but the commission replied it “could not participate in a meeting on the subject matter” with the president.

MeetinG: the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned an ‘important meeting’ on tuesday to discuss President arif alvi’s announcement of date for holding elections for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies. according to sources, the

Govt taking tangible steps to strengthen economy: PM

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt meeting would review the President’s announcement and would take a decision according to ‘Constitution and law’.

Prime minister muhammad shehbaz sharif on monday said the government was taking tangible and necessary steps to strengthen the economy and prioritizing reduction in unnecessary imports by enhancing exports. He said the incumbent government also faced the issues of mismanagement of the previous regime, and still in the face of such issues, but it was committed to improving the economy with strenuous efforts. the prime minister was talking to a delegation of rothschild and Co, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory groups, that called on him, the Pm office media Wing said in a press release. the meeting was attended by minister of state for finance dr ayesha ghous Pasha and other relevant officials. talking to the delegation, the prime minister mentioned that Pakistan faced natural calamity in the shape of recent floods spurred by the worst climate changes. the delegation members termed the economic situation in Pakistan stable and said its talented manpower was its real strength. the present government was taking steps to take the economy on the right path, they observed. they also commended Pakistan stock Exchange as among the bestperforming stocks in the region.

‘PM invites Dutch coMPanies to invest in Pakistan’: on the other hand, Prime minister shehbaz sharif on monday held a telephone call with Prime minister of the netherlands mark rutte wherein he invited the dutch companies to invest in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, water management and renewable energy. during the telephonic conversation, the two leaders took stock of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction at its positive trajectory, besides agreeing to further enhance trade and economic relations.

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Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk