The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday postponed the Punjab elections, originally scheduled for April 30, till October 8. In the order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the ECP said that in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by Article 218(3) read with Section 58 and Section 8(c) of the Elections Act, 2017, the commission “hereby withdraws the election programme […] and fresh schedule will be issued in due course of time with poll date on October 8”. On March 1, the Supreme Court had ruled that the elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies should be held within the stipulated period of 90 days. It had, however, allowed the ECP to propose a poll date that deviates from the 90-day deadline by the “barest minimum”, in case of any practical difficulty.
On Mar 10, the ECP later wrote separate letters to the president and the KP governor. In the letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, the electoral watchdog proposed dates between April 30 and May 7 for the elections. Alvi later the same day announced that elections in Punjab will be held on April 30.
The order said that the ECP approached the interior and defence ministries in February for the deployment of the army and Rangers in view of the “heightened security situation in the province and the recent terrorist wave”.
It added that the Punjab chief secretary and police chief were also summoned on February 8 for a briefing on the prevailing law and order situation, adding that the officials reported
Source: dawn.com
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
