Post-postponement: Court orders govt to provide security for AJK polls in city

If there are fears of violence, the government must talk to the candidates.


Express July 04, 2011

KARACHI:


The provincial government was ordered by the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday to ensure there is enough security for the elections of two general seats of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to be held peacefully as scheduled on July 20 in Karachi.


The bench of Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar disposed of the petition that was filed by two candidates on a ticket from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). It held that if the government arrives at the conclusion that the law and order conditions are not such that elections can be held, it would call the stakeholders and candidates and take them into confidence. The report generated (from such a meeting) would be sent to the relevant authorities, irrespective of disagreements among the candidates, who are the petitioners, the bench said in its order.

Earlier on, the bench inquired from Advocate General Sindh Abul Fatah Malik about the instructions he sought from the provincial government. The AG Sindh tried to stay non-committal but the bench asked him to make a firm statement. If the petition is disposed of, then I have no objection if the bench orders full-scale security for election day, the AG Sindh said.

The petition was filed by Muhammad Saleem Butt and Muhammad Tahir Khokhar who are existing members of the AJK Legislative Assembly and belong to the MQM. They are also ticket holders for the party on two general seats - LA 30 and 36 (Karachi).

The petitioners impugned a report that was allegedly prepared by the DIG Headquarters in Karachi to the effect that “a conspiracy has been hatched by certain miscreants to cause a breach in law and order, [cause] bloodshed during the polling for the two constituencies, LA-XXX and LA- XXVI”. In his report, the DIG cited the reports by returning officers of these constituencies, saying that due to the deteriorating law and order situation, conditions were not conducive for polling.

On the basis of these reports, the chief election commissioner of the AJK postponed the elections which will now be held on July 20.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2011.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ