Pak parliament rejects SC order

Pakistan's parliament yesterday rejected a Supreme Court order to conduct provincial snap polls, in the latest move in a power struggle between the government and the top court amid political and economic instability.

The top court had on Tuesday ruled illegal the government's move to delay the snap polls in two provinces where former prime minister Imran Khan had dissolved his local governments earlier this year.

The Speaker, in a live broadcast, said a motion was adopted by a majority of lawmakers to reject the court decision by a three-member panel headed by the chief justice and to demand a full court panel consisting of all judges hear the case.

The court's Tuesday order said elections in two provinces should go ahead despite government reluctance to hold the votes now as it struggles with an economic crisis and a political challenge from the opposition.

It gave a date of May 14 for voting in Punjab province, and a pending date for voting in Khyber Pakkhtunkhawa province due to some technical issues.