KARACHI, Jan 8: The ex-officio President of the Arts Council of Pakistan and DCO Karachi, Fazalur Rehman, has appointed Raeesuddin Paracha, EDO Investment Promotion and Enterprise , as the returning officer and his representative for the recounting of votes cast in the council's elections.

The move followed the transfer of Shoaib Siddiqui, who was earlier entrusted with the task, as the EDO Works.

The recounting has been effected on the request of Ibrahim Nafees, Naheed Raza, Najmuddin Shaikh, Syed Abdul Basit, Farah Nadeem and Ghulam Mohammed (Gulab Chandio) who had filed a petition in the Sindh High Court of Sindh. The petition was, however, dismissed as withdrawn on January 6.

The recounting has been scheduled for Sunday (January 9) at 2pm on the council premises. The applicants, as well as the chief polling agents of the three major contesting groups, have been advised to ensure their presence, or that of their authorized agents, at the recounting by the chief election commissioner or his authorized officers.--APP