SHC issues notices to ECP, LG secretary

Karachi
Federal and provincial law officers, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the provincial revenue department were issued with notices by the Sindh High Court on Friday over a Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) plea against delimitation of union councils and committees in several districts of Sindh.
Not satisfied with the provincial government’s delimitation of union councils and committees in Karachi’s Malir and Korangi areas as well as in Hyderabad, Naukot, Tando Allahyar, Nawabshah and Mirpurkhas, MQM’s deputy convenor Farooq Sattar and MPA Syed Sardar Ahmed in their petitions termed the delimitations unlawful and an exercise carried out to manipulate the electoral college.
The petitioners claimed that union committees for district Malir were included in district Korangi whereas some portions of the latter were included in the former district, in violation of the Supreme Court’s orders.
The procedure of shifting the councils and committees was also alleged to not have been made clear.
The MQM officials submitted that delimitation was not conducted by the provincial ECP as a result of which the government had included several urban areas into rural areas in Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Tando Allahyar due to a political bias.
The objections and complaints of petitioners and residents were also stated to not have been taken into consideration.
Bifurcation of Qasimabad from Hyderabad city for local bodies’ poll instead of declaring it a separate metropolitan city was also brought into question.
The petitioners request the court to direct the provincial ECP to conduct the delimitation instead of the provincial government.
Citing secretary local government, provincial census commissioner, city commissioner and Election Commission of Pakistan as respondents, the court was prayed to declare the notification of delimitation for the questioned union councils and committees as unlawful and restrain the government from holding elections in such districts till a decision over the petitions was announced.
They also requested to constitute union councils and committees as per the population ratio of the districts.