The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to provide a "realistic" timeline for holding local government polls in the capital — which were originally scheduled to take place on 31 December.
The direction came when Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir was hearing the petition of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) that sought to nullify ECP's decision to postpone the local government elections in Islamabad.
The ECP clearly told the court that it could not hold elections on 31 December, as it required at least 60 days for the delimitation, and also needed time to ensure that all the polling material is distributed.
The judge then told the ECP to provide a timeline as to when it plans on holding the polls. If the court concludes tomorrow that the elections cannot be held, then it will view the timeline, the judge added.
Justice Tahir also asked the ECP to submit the details of the funds utilised so far for the elections, as he stressed that taxpayer money must not be allowed to go to waste.
The direction came when Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir was hearing the petition of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) that sought to nullify ECP's decision to postpone the local government elections in Islamabad.
The ECP clearly told the court that it could not hold elections on 31 December, as it required at least 60 days for the delimitation, and also needed time to ensure that all the polling material is distributed.
The judge then told the ECP to provide a timeline as to when it plans on holding the polls. If the court concludes tomorrow that the elections cannot be held, then it will view the timeline, the judge added.
Justice Tahir also asked the ECP to submit the details of the funds utilised so far for the elections, as he stressed that taxpayer money must not be allowed to go to waste.