PESHAWAR: The Supreme Court on Wednesday suspended the Peshawar High Court’s order after the Election Commission of Pakistan said that Local Government (LG) elections in the remaining 18 districts of Khyber Pkahtunkhwa were postponed without its consultation.
A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Ayesha A Malik heard the petition against the PHC’s order which had directed the ECP to delay the elections due to inclement weather condition on 27 March.
The Supreme Court suspended the decision of the High Court and issued notices to the parties.
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The ECP counsel said that the Peshawar High Court Abbottabad Bench had postponed the schedule of LG polls without consulting the ECP. “The notice of hearing on February 1 was received on February 2,” the ECP lawyer informed the bench. During the hearing Justice Ayesha Malik remarked that the High Court should have heard the position of the ECP before announcing any judgment. The justice added that it was not confirmed that the weather conditions could hamper the elections.
Justice Ijaz-Ul-Ahsan remarked that the report of the Meteorological Department should have beeen reviewed. Justice Ahsan questioned why the court issued the judgment in such a hurry.
The bench adjourned the hearing of the case till Monday, February 14.
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) Abbottabad bench had asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the Local Government (LG) elections in the remaining 18 districts of the province which were scheduled for March 27. The bench headed by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim had annulled the schedule for local government election in five districts of the Hazara division. The scheduled was issued January 20 by the election commission of Pakistan for the 27 March election.
The opposition political parties had expressed concern over the PHC order and termed the move “anti-democratic”. The political parties said that earlier elections were held in Malakand on December 7, 1970, March 7, 1977, February 25, 1985, February 3, 1997, and February 18, 2018. The parties said that at the end of March, the conditions were even worse but the elections were never postponed.