The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the recent move of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) aimed at changing several electoral constituencies in the city.
In this regard, deputy convener of the MQM Coordination Committee Dr Farooq Sattar along with Barrister Farogh Naseem filed a petition with the SHC and challenged the move on grounds that “Illegal and unconstitutional changing of several electoral constituencies only in Karachi by the ECP was unjustifiable.”
Later, while talking to media persons outside the SHC, Dr Farooq said that the MQM had raised legal and constitutional issues in the petition as the new delimitations had been done after the announcement of the election schedule. He said that the party had prayed before the honourable court to stop the operation on the notification issued by the ECP and to declare it null and void.
Dr Farooq said that new delimitations of constituencies could not take place after the announcement of the election schedule. If these constituencies were being redrawn under section 10 – A of the Delimitation Act, suggestions should have been taken from all stakeholders, and the process should have been properly advertised, he added.
Furthermore, Dr Farooq said that the action of the ECP had raised questions about its integrity. He said that the people of the metropolitan have been punished by changing the constituencies as they were providing constant support to the MQM.
Moreover, Dr Farooq said that the altering of electoral boundaries was an attempt to steal the mandate of the MQM, while adding that the electoral rolls were also not being displayed in Karachi even after the door-to-door verification process.
Speaking on the occasion Barrister Nasim said that the SHC was approached for the implementation of the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) regarding fresh delimitation of electoral constituencies according to existing law. Altering of constituencies in the metropolitan were in violation of the order passed by the SCP.
Meanwhile, a large number of MQM workers and supporters held a protest demonstration outside the SCP’s office in the city against the delimitation of the city’s constituencies.
Addressing the participants, MQM leader Waseem Aftab said the delimitation of Karachi’s constituencies’ after the announcement of election schedule was in violation of the Constitution of Pakistan.
He further said that if the notification for the delimitation was not withdrawn then the state institutions would be held responsible for the situation that could arise in the metropolitan.
Meanwhile, PPP Sindh President Qadir Patel also submitted a plea against the delimitation of his own constituency (NA-239). While talking to media persons he said that his party was not against delimitation process, but his party was not notified before starting the delimitation of his constituency.
