From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has delisted the case related to the Karachi local government (LG) elections.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday changed the date of hearing of the Karachi LG polls’ case. The commission fixed a new date for the hearing of Karachi LG polls case as it will be heard on November 15 instead of November 9.
On November 4, it was learnt that the election commission decided to take up the case pertaining to local government (LG) elections in Karachi on November 9.
It was decided in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. The meeting was also attended by ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan, Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Hussain and other members of the commission.
The attendees were briefed about the Sindh government’s report on holding local body elections in Karachi.
In its written response, the provincial government had stated the LG elections are not possible due to the unavailability of the required police force in Sindh. It was also pointed out that additional police personnel have been sent to Islamabad at the interior ministry’s request.
The report further said that the police personnel cannot leave the flood-affected areas. Peaceful local government are not possible at this moment, the report added. According to the Karachi police department, 37,000 police officials are required for security duties during LG polls.
The provincial authorities said that 17,000 cops could not leave the flood-hit districts, whereas, 5,000 Sindh police officials were sent to Islamabad at the request of the interior ministry.
It is pertinent to mention here that the ECP had postponed the local government (LG) elections in Karachi scheduled for October 23. It was the third time ECP had postponed the second phase of LG polls in Sindh.
