SHC admits PTI plea against appointment of administrators

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the parties for Wednesday (today) on a petition of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the appointment of administrators allegedly on political grounds after the local government election schedule had been announced.

Appearing before a two-member SHC bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, Shahab Imam Advocate, the counsel for the petitioner PTI MPA Bilal Ghaffar, stated that Furqan Ateeb, Shakeel and Muhammad Sharif have been appointed as administrators in different districts of Karachi.

"These officers are members of the MQM-Pakistan Coordination Committee. The appointment of these officers on political grounds is an attempt to influence local body elections," he stated.

Saifur Rahman was also appointed as Karachi Administrator at a time when there was an official ban on transfers and appointments, he stated. The Sindh government, along with MQM, is blatantly violating the election laws.

"These appointments are illegal and in contravention of the election rules and hence should be declared null and void," Shahab Advocate stated.

The bench accepted the PTI appeal and issued notices to the parties for January 4 to submit their responses.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2023.