Pakistan plunges into constitutional crisis over polls: what to know

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan faces a full-blown constitutional crisis after the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered provincial elections to go ahead, while the federal government appears determined to postpone them.

Court overturned a decision by the Pakistan Election Commission to delay the poll until October, when a general election is also scheduled to take place. The ousted prime minister, Imran Khan, had tried to jump-start provincial voting by dissolving two local assemblies he controlled, as part of a strategy to force an early national vote that he is convinced he will win.