SHC rejects MQM-P plea for urgent hearing of delimitation case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday rejected a request by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for urgent hearing of its petition challenging an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notification regarding delimitation for local government constituencies in Sindh.

Justice Khadim Hussain Sheikh, a member of the bench that took up the application calling for urgent hearing, remarked that the high court cannot grant stay order against the process of delimitation.

Advocate Obaidur Rehman, representing the petitioners, contended before the bench that the MQM-P being a political party will suffer losses in local body elections because of new delimitations, insisting on early hearing of the petition.

The SHC bench, however, said the case may involve lengthy arguments, due to which it is not possible for the court to hear and decide the petition during the high court’s summer vacations.

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MQM-P leaders Amir Khan, Kunwar Naveed Jamil and Wasim Akhtar through their counsel challenged the ECP notification, stating that delimitation exclusively falls within the ambit of the ECP, but additional deputy commissioners have been included in committees for delimitation for local government constituencies.

They contended that such a notification is illegal and added the ECP was required to carry out the delimitation after every census results are published officially, but the final result of the 2017 census has not been published.