ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a contempt notice to the interior secretary over his failure to appear in a hearing related to the delay in local government elections in Islamabad.
A five-member bench of the commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case.
During the proceedings, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Ali Randhawa appeared before the commission, while the interior secretary did not attend the hearing.
The chief election commissioner questioned the absence of the interior secretary and directed that a contempt of commission notice be issued against him.
He also ordered that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi appear in person at the next hearing if the secretary continues to remain absent.
ECP officials told the commission that a letter had been sent to the interior secretary, but no response had been received and the ministry had not cooperated in the matter.
The commission was informed that documents required to begin the delimitation process, including the official notification, a map of Islamabad and details of the number of union council members, had not yet been provided.
The chief election commissioner observed that the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration was not treating the issue seriously, even though conducting the local government elections was its responsibility.
He warned authorities not to force the commission into taking strict action and directed officials to provide a clear timeline for progress on the matter.
The ECP also instructed the Islamabad chief commissioner to update the commission on developments at the next hearing. The case was adjourned until Tuesday.