Circumstances not conducive for polls: Tarar.

ISLAMABAD -- As Prime MinisAter Shehbaz Sharif espoused 'adherence to the Constitution' on the occasion of Pakistan Day, the federal government on Thursday endorsed the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan to delay elections for more than five months - a move described by many, including the major opposition party, as unconstitutional.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) termed the postponement of the polls as 'unconstitutional' and asserted that the Constitution guaranteed the holding of elections within 90 days after the dissolution of the assembly or the expiry of its term.

Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies were dissolved by PTI in Jan this year in a bid to force general elections in the country. However, after a protracted controversy on the date of polls, the ECP - after the intervention of the Supreme Court - initially announced April 30 as the date for elections in Punjab.

'No to split polls'

Addressing a press conference, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said general elections across the country should be held at one time for the sake of political and economic stability.

According to the PML-N senator, the ECP had postponed the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa keeping in view the security, political and economic challenges faced by Pakistan at this juncture.

The law minister claimed that criticism on social media with respect to the ECP's decision was being levelled without knowledge of the facts. 'It is the mandate of the ECP to conduct free and fair elections in the country under Article 218 of the Constitution. The ECP does not consider the current situation as suitable for the polls,' he added.

As he listed excuses for postponing general elections, the law minister said that a surge in terrorism incidents had been witnessed across the country over past few months and the ECP had taken the decision to postpone polls after the state institutions apprised the commission about the security issues. 'The security institutions are currently busy at...