The Islamabad High Court (IHC) accepted the PML-N and PPP petitions to postpone the local bodies’ elections in Islamabad on Wednesday, directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct new delimitations in the federal capital within 65 days and announce the election schedule.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a petition asking for the postponement of local body elections in Islamabad without increasing the number of union councils.
The ECP adopted before the court, “First, we will demarcate new constituencies, and then we will give the schedule of the local bodies elections.”
The IHC was also requested to order the federal government to cooperate with the ECP in the execution of the local bodies elections. “The election schedule will be announced after the delimitation of new constituencies within 60 days,” said the ECP in the court.
“The governments put hurdles in the execution of the local bodies elections. The court should direct the federal government to fulfill its constitutional responsibility regarding the local bodies elections,” it added.
Following the hearing, PML-N leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told the media that the court’s decision to postpone the local body elections was no one’s victory.
“We believe in peaceful and transparent elections. The country will soon get good news on the economic front,” he added.
