Islamabad Court Rejects Immediate Stay on Local Election Schedule Withdrawal Notification

Islamabad: The notification withdrawing the schedule for Islamabad’s local government elections has been challenged in court, but the court rejected the request for an immediate stay.

According to Express News, during the hearing of the case filed against the Election Commission’s notification, the court issued notices to the parties and sought their responses. The court also directed that the case be heard alongside other similar cases.

Justice Muhammad Azam Khan presided over the hearing on a petition filed by Nasrullah Randhawa, President of Jamaat-e-Islami Islamabad. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that a previous challenge had been filed against the Local Government Amendment Ordinance, and now the Election Commission had withdrawn the local election schedule.

The lawyer also noted that the previous local government elections were held in 2015, and their five-year term has already expired. Under the law, new local elections must be held within 120 days after the term ends.

The petitioner requested that the notification withdrawing the election schedule be declared null and void and that local elections be conducted immediately. He also sought suspension of the notification until the main case, scheduled for January 27, is heard. The court, however, rejected the request for an immediate stay and issued notices to the parties.