SHC asks ECP to issue schedule for LG polls in 15 days

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issued the schedule for local body elections in Karachi and Hyderabad within 15 days, adding that the polls should preferably be conducted within 60 days.

Last month, the electoral watchdog had postponed the polls in seven Karachi districts for the third time in line with a request made by the Sindh government - due to floods - prompting criticism from the PTI and Jamaat-iIslami (JI), which had been campaigning heavily in the city.

Meanwhile, the polls in nine districts of Hyderabad were postponed in light of the havoc wrought by the floods.

Earlier this week, the SHC had reserved its verdict in the case after hearing all parties in the PTI's and JI's pleas against the postponement of the polls.

Sindh Advocate General Hasan Akbar, PTI MPA Khurram Sher Zaman, Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, appeared in court today.

In the detailed verdict, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh said that the court would "not go so far as to dictate the date of the election or direct the manner in which the same ought to be conducted or policed, but would note that the ECP may notify the polling date, preferably within a period of 15 days from the date of this order, specifying a fresh polling date […] so as to

preferably conclude the overall exercise of the election in any event within a total period of 60 days".