The federal government was given six months on Monday by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to hold local bodies’ (LB) elections in Islamabad.
Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi announced the decision in response to two petitions seeking the announcement of a timeframe for the LB elections.
The older petition was filed by human rights lawyer Muhammad Kokab Iqbal in 2008. The second petition was filed earlier this year by Haji Salahuddin, chairman of the Small Traders Association of Islamabad.
Justice Qureshi on Tuesday directed the federal government to announce the election schedule after completing all formalities as required by local governance laws and to hold the election in “not more than six months”.
It is the responsibility of the state to treat citizens with equality under the constitution, Justice Qureshi said.
Iqbal had contended that under Article 1 of the Constitution, Islamabad Capital Territory is an independent federating unit, so all citizens must be treated equally in accordance with the law, in this case regarding the right to have elected representation.
The court’s detailed order said, “Election of local bodies [gets]… people at the grass root in local government for solving their problems.”
The court also observed that electoral rolls have already been prepared, so the government cannot use this as an excuse to prolong the timeframe for elections.
Islamabad District was created on July 1, 1980 as an independent district under the administration control of the Punjab government. Subsequently, administrative control was handed over to the federal government. Later, once it became Islamabad Capital Territory, the Local Government Ordinance 1979 became applicable and the territory was divided into 12 Union Councils.
Reactions
Former Islamabad Member National Assembly (MNA) Mian Muhammad Aslam appreciated the decision and claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami is the only party that had struggled for LB elections in the federal capital.
“Now the ball is in the government’s court and the order should be implemented,” he said. However, he suggested that the government should hold LB elections after the general election.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Additional Information Secretary Dr Israr Shah termed it a “victory for the residents of Islamabad”.
Shah said the PTI is currently focusing on the general elections. “PTI will contest LB elections whenever they are announced, but right now is the time for general elections,” Shah said.
Islamabad MNA Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary said, “There is absolutely no doubt that the bureaucracy was the main hurdle in holding LB elections in Islamabad, and in which the residents, especially those from the rural areas, were deprived of their right to representation.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2012.
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