LAHORE:The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday accepted the petitions of the PML-N and the PPP to postpone the local bodies elections in Islamabad, directing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to carry out new delimitations in the federal capital within 65 days and announce the election schedule.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition seeking postponement of local bodies elections in Islamabad without increasing number of the 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. After the hearing, PML-N leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said while talking to media that the court’s judgement of postponing the local bodies 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.