Ruling Political Parties File Petition in Balochistan High Court to Halt Local Government Elections in Quetta

Quetta: Several political parties have approached the Balochistan High Court seeking to stop the holding of local government elections in Quetta, citing adverse weather conditions and technical issues in voter lists.

An identical constitutional petition, filed by Younis Baloch and others, urges the court to postpone the elections, arguing that the prevailing severe weather and flaws in electoral rolls make it impossible to conduct polls immediately. The petitioners also warned that holding elections under the current circumstances could lead to serious law and order problems in the city.

According to Younis Baloch, the petition has been jointly filed by the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). In addition, the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakhtunkhwa National Party have also separately approached the court against the conduct of the local government elections.

It is noteworthy that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had earlier rejected a request by the Balochistan government to postpone the local government elections. Following that decision, the political parties opted to seek legal recourse through the courts.