ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court on Friday rejected petitions seeking delimitations of eight constituencies of four districts of Punjab.
IHC judge Justice Aamer Farooq conducted the hearing of the petitions and maintained the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s notification about delimitations.
The petitions were filed against delimitations of districts including Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot and Vehari.
Earlier, the court had dismissed 23 petitions challenging the delimitations of 10 constituencies of districts Bhakkar, Batgram, Karachi, Islamabad, Leyyah, Mandi Bahauddin, Mirpur Khas and Sargodha.
The court rejected the petitions after hearing arguments of the petitioners and the ECP as well.
The same bench had also set aside the delimitation of six constituencies of districts Bahawalpur, Kharan, Ghotki, Sheikhupura, Haripur and Kasur as null and void on May 30 and sent these cases back to the ECP for rehearing. The IHC had also upheld ECP’s delimitations of Chiniot, Khanewal, Gujranwala, Umerkot, Sialkot, Jacobabad, Rahimyar Khan, Chakwal, Bannu, Kurrum Agency, Swabi, Mansehra and Rajanpur districts.
A day earlier, the IHC had nullified the delimitations of Toba Tek Singh, Lower Dir, Jhang and Jhelum and remanded back these cases to the ECP for re-adjudication.
The petitioners had adopted that the poll-supervisory body has done delimitation on political grounds and these should be set aside as standard procedure was not followed in the delimitation of the constituencies.
Meanwhile, the same IHC bench restrained the ECP from issuing a notification regarding the disqualification of Senator Mirza Muhammad Afridi.
Justice Aamer directed the ECP not to issue the said notification till the next hearing of the case.
Senator Afridi had moved the court through his counsel Barrister Muhammad Goher, citing the ECP as respondent. He had prayed to the court to restrain the ECP from issuing his disqualification notification.
After issuing the above-mentioned directions, the IHC deferred the hearing till June 4.
The ECP had disqualified Senator Afridi for failing to clear his dues. According to the statement issued by the ECP, the senator, elected from Fata, was disqualified over his failure to pay Rs1.7 million to the social security.
Senator Afridi was elected as an independent senator from Federal Administrative Tribal Areas while after his election to the Upper House, he had supported Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz during the election of the chairman and deputy chairman Senate. Later, he announced to join the PML-N after holding a meeting with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
