MQM petition: AJK court reserves judgment against election postponement

Takes up PML-N’s petition for compilation of new electoral lists for LA-37.

MUZAFFARABAD:

Reserving its judgment on the writ petition filed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) against the postponement of elections in two electoral constituencies representing the Kashmiri diaspora in Karachi, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Saturday completed its hearing and reserved its judgement on the matter.

The high court also took up Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) petition, filed by the party for the compilation of new electoral lists for LA-37 Kashmir Valley-2, Lahore.

A full bench of the high court headed by Chief Justice Mustafa Mughal and comprising Justice Muhammad Munir and Justice Tabassum Aftab Alvi, asked the counsel for the election commission during the hearing if it was difficult to hold elections for the two seats in Karachi from constituencies where people were killed and the election staff were beaten up.

The counsel for the election commission responded that maintaining law and order was the government’s responsibility and that the commission had postponed the election after the inspector general Sindh wrote a letter to them saying that the election was inciting violence and therefore, it was not conducive to hold the elections.

The bench reserved its decision till Monday after completing the hearing.

PML-N counsel Raja Sadaqat told The Express Tribune that a large number of bogus votes had been registered in the electoral lists for LA-37 and a writ petition had been filed against the matter.

He said that the PML N had also filed a writ petition against the enrolment of bogus votes in this constituency.

Meanwhile, nomination papers were filed for the eight legislative assembly seats reserved for women, technocrats, Ulemah and Mashikh and overseas Kashmiris.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2011.