SC suspends PHC order on LG polls in KP

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday suspended the order of Peshawar High Court (PHC) regarding postponement of the second phase of the LG elections in KP, ARY News reported.

A two-member bench of the SC comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Ayesha Malik heard the plea moved by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the PHC’s Abbottabad bench order.

The lawyer of the ECP, in his argumnets before the court maintained that the PHC Abbottabad bench announced its verdict without hearing their stance.

The notice issued on February 1 was received by the ECP on February 2 and the court had already passed orders of postponement of the second phase of LG polls in KP, the lawyer added.

Justice Ayesha Malik in her remarks said the bench should have listened to the ECP before passing the judgement. It is not established that weather conditions can affect the LG polls, the SC bench remarked.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, another member of the bench, remarked why the court was in hurry in passing the judgement? The SC after suspending the order of the PHC adjourned the further hearing of the case until February 14.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) filed a plea in the SC for an early hearing of its plea against the PHC’s order regarding the postponement of the second phase of the LG elections in KP.

The ECP in its plea said that PHC’s Abbottabad bench ordered the postponement of the second phase of the local government elections. The country’s supreme electoral body has pleaded with the SC to fix the case for an early hearing.

Last week, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) suspended a notification for holding the second phase of local government elections in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and directed the authorities to hold it after the holy month of Ramazan.