IHC rejects petitions against delimitation

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday rejected petitions against delimitations of constituencies of Punjab’s four districts.

A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq conducted hearing of these petitions and maintained the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification about delimitations while rejecting the petitions against delimitations of eight constituencies of four districts.

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, Layyah, 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 Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for rehearing in the matters while the IHC bench had upheld ECP’s delimitation decision regarding Chiniot, Khanewal, Gujranwala, Umerkot, Sialkot, Jacobabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Chakwal, Bannu, Kurrum Agency, Swabi, Mansehra and Rajanpur districts and rejected petitions against these.

One day before it, the IHC bench nullified the delimitations of four districts’ constituencies including Toba Tek Singh, Lower Dir, Jhang and Jhelum and remanded back these cases to ECP for re-adjudication.

The petitioners adopted before the court that the poll-supervisory body has done delimitation on political grounds and therefore these should be set aside as standard procedure was also not followed in the delimitation of constituencies.