KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday dismissed petitions filed by Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and others challenging the mayoral election.
In its brief order, the court stated that it would provide detailed reasons for the dismissal later.
The bench noted that the issue under review concerned the election of the mayor and posed questions about whether it was conducted as a separate poll. The court highlighted that the petitioners argued the law had been amended after the electoral process had already commenced.
Petitioners’ lawyer argued that the Election Commission’s initial notification marked the beginning of the electoral process and that changes to the polling date were made by amending this notification.
In response, the lawyer representing Karachi’s mayor stated that the electoral college was incomplete before the law was amended, and the election could not have proceeded without the legislative change.
Barrister Murtaza Wahab of the Pakistan People’s Party won the Karachi mayoral election held on June 15, 2023, defeating Jamaat-e-Islami’s candidate, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman.