ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to withdraw the schedule for local government elections.
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the petitoin and issued notices to the concerned parties and sought their replies. During the proceedings, Jamaat-e-Islami Islamabad Ameer Nasrullah Randhawa appeared in court along with his counsel, Chaudhry Shoaib Ahmed.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that a Local Government Amendment Ordinance had already been challenged in court, and now the Election Commission has further complicated the matter by withdrawing the local government election schedule. He maintained that local government elections in Islamabad were last held in 2015 and the five-year constitutional term of the elected bodies has long expired.
The court was informed that under the law, new local government elections must be held within 120 days after the completion of the term. The petitioner requested the court to declare the ECP’s notification illegal and direct the immediate conduct of local government elections in Islamabad.
The petitioner also sought an interim stay on the ECP’s notification until the main case, scheduled for January 27, is heard. However, the Islamabad High Court declined to issue an immediate stay order.
The court adjourned further hearing of the case until January 27.