QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court on Friday declared the delimitation of eight electoral constituencies in Quetta null and void, ordering the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to address the concerns of political parties.
A divisional bench comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Abdullah Baloch ordered the commission to re-conduct delimitation in view of apprehensions and reservations of various political parties.
The constituencies include PB-24, PB 25, PB 26, PB 27, PB 28, PB 29, PB 30 and PB 32 — all located in Quetta district. There was no complaint filed regarding PB 31 which is also situated in Quetta.
The number of constituencies in Quetta jumped from six to nine following the 2017 census. A number of political parties had expressed reservations regarding the recent delimitation conducted by ECP in Quetta district.
Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Nasrullah Zarai, Hazrat Omar and Malik Yaseen had challenged the delimitation.
The court also ordered the inclusion of union council Sorod from PB 44 Awaran/Panjgoor into PB 43 Panjgoor.
Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court (IHC) has also annulled the delimitation of several constituencies in the past few days. ECP had maintained that the 2018 general elections would be held on time.
