ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday, while disposing of the intra-court appeals, resolved the long-standing dispute over local bodies elections in the federal capital with a decision that the LG elections will be held in 125 union councils (UCs) within the next 120 days.
With the decision, the Islamabad High Court brought an end to a legal battle that had been ongoing for several months.
Through ruling, the court also barred the federal government from increasing UCs prior to the upcoming election.
The verdict was issued on intra-court appeals, filed against the original decision regarding polls in Islamabad. The ruling will come as a relief to citizens of the city, who have been eagerly anticipating the holding of LG elections after a gap of several years.
The court’s decision was based on a review of the evidence presented in the case, which included testimony from representatives of various political parties and civil society groups.
The court ultimately concluded that the best course of action was to proceed with the previously planned local bodies elections, which will be held in 125 UCs across Islamabad.
The ruling also included a provision prohibiting the federal government from increasing UCs again before the upcoming elections.
‘Stay order on by-polls in three NA constituencies’
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued stay orders on the by-polls in three constituencies of the National Assembly fall in Islamabad.
The high court also suspended by-poll election notification issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq issued the written verdict regarding the stay order on the plea filed by PTI leaders – Asad Umar, Raja Khurram and Ali Nawaz Awan.
The PTI leaders had filed a petition against the acceptance of resignation in the IHC.
The written verdict stated that according to the lawyer, two similar pleas were in the Lahore high court. It’s compulsory to summon the members to accept their resignations but the PTI leader was not summoned, the written verdict stated.
The court issued notices to respondents on the pleas filed by three PTI MNAs and adjourned the hearing till March 18.
Earlier, Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s notification regarding the acceptance of PTI MNAs’ resignations from Islamabad. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had announced resignations from the National Assembly on April 11 last year, minutes before the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the new prime minister.
