The Supreme Court Thursday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to provide a date by Friday for holding local bodies (LB) elections in the country.
The two-member SC bench comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany heard the petition of Balochistan Bar Association for giving fresh directions to ECP for holding LB election in the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Observing that the provincial governments are bound by Constitution to hold LB elections, Justice Khawaja remarked that the court would not allow that the provincial governments complete their constitutional term of five years without holding municipal elections in the provinces. He asked the governments of Sindh and Punjab to provide their reasons for not holding the elections.
The apex court also directed the governments of KP, Sindh and Punjab to provide written assurance that LB polls will be held on the dates provided by the ECP.
The Sindh advocate general (AG) informed the court that the provincial assembly passed Local Bodies Act in 2008 which was challenged in courts. He said that the provincial government had sent the draft of new legislation to the ECP.
The counsel for ECP told the bench that the Sindh government has provided the LB polls draft and the commission would announce dates after reviewing it. The court also expressed its wonder on the transference of power to lower level and observed that ECP was not taking the task properly.
Later, the hearing of the case was adjourned till Friday.
