Petition adjourned: LHC chief justice asks govt for local polls plans

Petitioner’s lawyer argued Punjab government was delaying local elections and this was a violation of the Constitution

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday adjourned hearing of a petition regarding the failure of the provincial government to hold local government elections in Punjab till May 9.

Chief Justice Sheikh (CJ) Azmat Saeed was hearing the petition filed by Asghar Gilani. Earlier, the petitioner’s lawyer had argued that the Punjab government was delaying local elections and that this was a violation of the Constitution. A provincial law officer told the court that the Punjab government had delayed local government elections for another six months through a notification.

The CJ expressed his annoyance and said that it looked as if the Punjab government was not interested in holding local elections. He then adjourned the matter till May 9 and directed the law officer to apprise the court about when the local government elections would be held. The local governments were dissolved in 2008.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2012.