LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Aaliya Neelum has turned down the request of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sultan Akram Raja to reform the election tribunals in the province.

Despite the CEC’s meeting with the LHC chief justice to propose reconstituting the current election tribunals, Justice Aaliya Neelum insisted that the existing tribunals would continue to operate as they are.

She emphasized that the final decision regarding the election tribunals would be made by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Previously, on June 20, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the formation of election tribunals by the Lahore High Court.

The Supreme Court’s two-member bench, headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Naeem Afghan, heard the appeal.

During the proceedings, Justice Isa questioned why the Chief Election Commissioner and the Chief Justice of Pakistan couldn’t meet to resolve disputes, suggesting that making every issue contentious undermines Parliament’s authority.