ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has admitted for hearing a petition filed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) against the fresh delimitation of Karachi's constituencies before the upcoming general elections, DawnNews reported.

Senator Farogh Naseem appeared before the court and submitted the petition on behalf of the MQM after removing objections raised by the registrar's office. The Supreme Court later admitted the petition for hearing.

Later, speaking to media representatives, the counsel for the MQM said the process of fresh delimitation could only be initiated after a fresh census was conducted.

The stance has been shared by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, Naseem said.

On Nov 26, a five-member bench of the apex court had observed that the constituencies in Karachi should be delimited in a manner that they comprise “mixed population” to avoid political polarisation.

In other related news the exercise for verification of Karachi's voters list is set to begin on Thursday and FC personnel had arrived in the city to take part in the process along with Army and Election Commision of Pakistan (ECP) personnel after  the Supreme Court had ordered for the re-verification of voters in Karachi.