KARACHI: A union committee chairman-elect belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf petitioned the Sindh High Court seeking a stay order against the oath-taking ceremony of councillors-elect.

However, a division bench of the SHC did not entertain the application filed by petitioner Zeeshan Zaib’s lawyer for an urgent hearing on Friday. The matter is now fixed for hearing on Monday — which is the day of oath-taking of local government elected representatives.

The petitioner, who has been elected chairman from a UC in Korangi district, submitted in his petition that there were 41 UC chairmen and vice chairmen of the PTI from Karachi division and most of them had been arrested or went into hiding due to the ongoing crackdown on the party in the aftermath of May 9 incidents.

Therefore, he stated that there would be a miscarriage of justice if the elected representatives of the PTI could not be allowed to take oath and subsequently cast their vote to elect mayor of Karachi of their own choices.

The petitioner cited the chief election commissioner, provincial election commission and secretary of local government department as respondents.

The lawyer for petitioner, Rahman Mahesar, argued that they had approached the ECP for postponement of the oath-taking ceremony since there was great apprehension that elected representatives of the PTI would be deprived of participating in the upcoming session for the election of Karachi mayor and deputy mayor.

He contended that a number of chairmen-elect and vice chairmen of the party were behind bars or kept detained under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.

The petitioner pleaded the court to suspend the impugned notification of the ECP and restrain the respondents from conducting oath-taking ceremony and subsequent mayoral election until elected representatives of PTI could easily approach and access the session.

He also sought directives for respondents to arrange safe and secure attendance of such elected representatives in order to cast their votes and not to cause any harassment or arrest them under the garb of the MPO.

The petitioner’s lawyer told Dawn that an application was filed on Friday before a two-judge bench headed by the chief justice for urgent hearing, but the bench did not entertain the application and now the matter is fixed for hearing on Monday.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023