Sindh govt decides holidays for schools, colleges

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to announce holidays for schools and colleges across the province on Saturday and Sunday ahead of local government (LG) polls, ARY News reported on Friday.

Holidays will be observed in schools and colleges on Saturday and Sunday across Sindh due to the second phase of LG polls in Karachi and Hyderabad. The education staff will be deputed for the polling process.

The provincial authorities will issue a notification today. At the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the commissioners of Karachi and Hyderabad wrote letters to the education department.

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Meanwhile, the concerned authorities failed to issue cards to the educators who will be deputed for election duties due to uncertainty regarding the organisation of the Karachi and Hyderabad LG polls.

The executive district officers (EDOs) of the education department sent voice notes to the educators on an emergency basis to immediately submit their photos and computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to the concerned district officers.

Without the issuance of cards, presiding officers (POs) will not receive payments for performing election duties.

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In a relevant development, the commission started transportation of election material to deputy commissioner (DC) offices in both cities amid strict security.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected Sindh government’s notification to postpone the second phase of LG polls in Sindh and ruled that the local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad will be held as per schedule on January 15.

Rejecting Sindh government notification and request, the ECP has directed Interior Ministry to ensure the deployment of Rangers and Army on highly sensitive polling stations in Karachi and Hyderabad.

Later, the Sindh government also announced to hold the local government (LG) polls on January 15, 2023.