SHC issues notice to parties on UC polls

Immediate polls should be held to complete the mayorship process, says petitioner

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court has notified the parties on the petition of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman regarding the elections in 11 Union Councils.

Elections in these UCs withheld due to deaths of various candidates will have decisive impact on the final results of the local government elections in Karachi and set ground for who will be the mayor of the metropolitan city.

A two-member bench consisting of Justice Umar Syal and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed heard the petition.

The petitioner’s counsel, Usman Farooq Advocate, has taken the stand that due to the death of candidates and other reasons, the chairman and vice chairman elections were not held on 11 seats.

He stated that the Election Commission was also approached for elections on 11 seats, but the Election Commission needs to conduct elections. Immediate polls should be held to complete the mayorship process.

Usman Farooq Advocate pleaded that the Election Commission be ordered to hold elections on 11 seats immediately. The court issued notices to the parties and sought a response within 10 days.

Declaration from non-Muslims

The Sindh High Court (SHC) deferred its verdict after hearing lawyers’ arguments on the requirement of special certifications from non-Muslims, including a declaration of faith, particularly for inheritance.

A two-member bench headed by Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh heard the petition of Hari Lal.

The court questioned whether it makes sense to need a special declaration from a person who practices Hinduism, Christianity, or any other religion. It inquired why the certificate was required if the religion was mentioned on the individual’s identity card that has been issued by the state.

In response, the public prosecutor suggested that the rule may have been enacted because members of the Ahmaddiya community identify themselves as Muslims, while as per constitution they were not.

The court reserved the verdict after hearing the lawyers’ arguments from both sides.

Indian Muslim seeks
Pakistani citizenship

The same SHC bench heard another case pertaining to the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) objection on granting Pakistani citizenship to an Indian national who married a Pakistani woman.

The court adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period while seeking answers from the petitioner’s lawyer to NADRA’s objections.

The applicant’s lawyer, Azra Iqbal Advocate, had stated that the Rafiq had married a Pakistani woman, Safia, and both of them were in Pakistan. He said that the couple have two children and have been living in Pakistan for a long time, adding that NADRA was not granting Pakistani citizenship to Rafiq, citing the reason that men from other countries cannot obtain Pakistani citizenship.

Land dispute

The Sindh High Court, hearing a case regarding land ownership between the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and the Sindh government, ordered the parties to appear before the court at the next hearing with full preparation.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro heard the petition.

KPT lawyer Mushtaq Memon claimed that the Sindh government, without jurisdiction, had allotted land, which was owned by the KPT. He said the KPT allottees had filed a case in the Sindh High Court, which was rejected in 2010, following which the Sindh government had claimed the ownership of the land. “We argue that the court’s observations were inaccurate in light of the evidence,” the lawyer stated. Barrister Abid Zuberi, representing the Sindh government, stated that the land is the property of the Sindh government and the SHC has also declared it as such.

The court adjourned the hearing until after Ramazan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2023.