ISLAMABAD: The federal government of Pakistan has also challenged the Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s single bench verdict that had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold local government elections in Islamabad on December 31 (today) after overturning notifications of the polls body and the government issued earlier, postponing the elections for an indefinite period.
On behalf of the federal government, Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal submitted the intra-court appeal in the IHC challenging the single bench verdict that directed the ECP to hold the local government elections in the federal capital within 24 hours.
Earlier, the ECP also filed an intra-court appeal in the IHC against the decision of the single bench that directed the polls body to hold elections on Saturday (today).
Objection by Islamabad High Court
Earlier, the IHC registrar’s office raised objections to the intra-court appeal filed by the ECP, citing missing documents. Sources said that the ECP officials were preparing to complete the missing documents so that the intra-court appeals could be heard at the earliest.
The federal government and ECP sources said that the process to remove the IHC objections was in process.
Islamabad High Court decision about polls
On Friday, the IHC single bench had directed the ECP to conduct the local government elections in Islamabad on Saturday stating that it was the responsibility of federal and provincial governments on time. The IHC single bench had stated that the federal government was gratuitously dragging its feet in prolonging the already delayed local government elections.
The IHC said that the federal government has failed to satisfy the court with a cogent reason for the delay in holding the local government elections.
Islamabad High Court and Intra-court appeal
In the intra-court appeal, the ECP has taken the plea that local government elections in Islamabad cannot be held on December 31 on such short notice.
The ECP has taken the plea that it was “practically impossible” to hold elections on such short notice as logistical arrangements could not be put in place to move the election equipment and neither the polling staff was available to hold the exercise.
The local government elections were earlier scheduled to be held on December 31, before the federal government issued a notification increasing the number of union councils in Islamabad from 101 to 125, practically putting off the LG polls.
Following the federal government’s decision, the ECP put off the elections stating the polls could not be held without fresh delimitation
Islamabad High Court and Government
On Friday, IHC single bench headed by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir only quashed the federal government’s notification but also the ECP’s notification to postpone the elections.
The IHC announced the verdict on petitions moved by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami, challenging the postponement of polls.
In the intra-court appeal, the ECP has pleaded to hear the hear case on Saturday (today) on an emergency basis. The ECP has made the PTI and the JI respondents in the intra-court appeal.
