Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday rejected MQM-P’s application for becoming a respondent in the hearing of petitions against delay in the Sindh Local Government (LG) polls and reserved its verdict on those already under adjudication. Separate petitions against the postponement of second phase of local bodies’ polls in Sindh were filed by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). During the hearing, MQM’s lawyer Advocate Tariq Mansoor pleaded with the court to include them as a respondent in the petition as the adjudication on the matter was underway.

However, the court refused to entertain the plea and remarked that it could not be done immediately. MQM-P’s lawyer said that the election commission told them that the polls have been delayed due to the defence exhibition. The court asked the election commission officials about the time frame they required to conduct the elections. The provincial election commissioner replied that they required only 15 days.The court asked MQM-P’s counsel what their real issue was. He expressed doubt that free and fair elections could not take place without amendment in the LG Act. The court said they would see MQM-P’s petition when it comes to them in routine and asked their counsel to wait until then.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP