Pakistan Supreme Court orders Punjab polls to be held next month

ELECTIONS must be held for the assembly in Pakistan’s most populous province next month, the Supreme Court declared today, voiding a bid to delay voting in Punjab and handing a political victory to opposition leader Imran Khan.

Pakistan has been in political turmoil for a year since Khan was ousted as prime minister last April through a no-confidence vote and replaced by a coalition he has harried with parliamentary manoeuvring and popular rallies calling for snap elections.