KARACHI, Dec 24: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement filed on Monday review petitions against the Supreme Court’s verdict for fresh delimitation of constituencies in Karachi.

MQM leader Farooq Sattar filed two petitions through his counsel Farogh Naseem in the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry, seeking review of its rulings about delimitation handed down on Nov 26 and Nov 28 during the hearing of a case pertaining to implementation of its order in a suo motu case relating to frequent target killings in Karachi.

The petitioner submitted that delimitation in the city must be undertaken strictly in accordance with law which, according to him, required a fresh census before any such exercise.

The last census was held in 1998 and delimitation on its basis was carried out in 2002 and was upheld by the Election Commission and courts.

The MQM deputy convener contended that the delimitation of 2002 and census of 1998 constituted a past and closed transaction because two general and local bodies’ elections had been held under them.

Therefore, no power of delimitation under the relevant laws, he said, could be exercised unless there was a fresh census, which had been disbanded for unknown reason.

He said that without a fresh census, the act of delimitation, which in essence was meant to create equality among constituencies, would be nothing but an exercise in futility.

The petitioner argued that the verdict in the Watan Party case was ‘not implementable’ in the absence of fresh census and the Election Commission had said in its comments filed on Oct 24 that there could be no delimitation in Karachi without a new census.

However, he submitted, the Supreme Court had rejected the stance of Election Commission on Nov 26 and the secretary of the commission changed

the stance and conceded on Nov 26 before the court to expedite fresh delimitation.

The petitioner contended that the court could not have interfered with the discretion of the commission explained through its comments filed on Oct 24 and it ought to have clarified that delimitation could not be held in the absence of a census.

Speaking to reporters after filing the petitions, Mr Sattar reiterated MQM’s demand of holding a census before delimitation.

He asked why delimitation had been ordered specifically for Karachi. Fresh delimitation in Karachi without a census would be an injustice to the MQM, he added.