RAWALPINDI: While candidates were all set to start filing nomination papers for the forthcoming local government elections from October 3, the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Rawalpindi bench on Thursday set aside the new delimitation of the union councils in the Rawalpindi division.

Justice Mahmood Ahmad Bhatti issued the direction while accepting for hearing identical petitions filed against the delimitation for the local government elections.

Previously, while hearing similar petitions, a bench of the LHC had declared that the delimitation was something to be done by the district government, not by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Legal experts said the decision would affect the local government elections scheduled to be held in December.

The LHC will issue a detailed judgment in this regard on October 6 and will hear the writ petitions challenging the new delimitation of wards from October 8.

During the hearing of the matter, Additional Advocate General Punjab Rashid Hafeez, ECP’s Additional Director (Law) Mohammad Arshad Khan and Joint Secretary Attaur Rehman appeared before the court.

The petitioners, including former nazims of the union council Numbal of Murree Sajid Abbasi and Arshad Nawaz, had challenged the annexation of some parts of the union council into Tarait and Murree city. Former nazim of Murree Haroon Abbasi and others had also challenged the delimitation of Jawa, Ghora Gali and other areas. There were various other petitions from different parts of the Rawalpindi division, including Taxila and Rawalpindi city.

The petitioners through their counsel Raja Shafqat Abbasi adopted before the court that the ECP while issuing notifications for the new delimitations did not consider the local and geographical conditions of the UCs. The new delimitation will create hardships for the residents besides violating the right of adult franchise of the local people. The petitioners requested the court to declare the new delimitation null and void as it was against the fundamental rights and the Constitution of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2015

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