PHC issues notice to KP govt about amendment to local council rules

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday sought reply from the KPa government in a writ petition of ECP about amendment to the rules for the filling out reserved seats in the elected local bodies in the province.
A division bench comprising Justice Qaisar Rashid Khan and Justice Roohul Amin Khan issued notice to provincial government through KP advocate general, directing it to submit reply in the court before next hearing. The ECP filed the petition through its secretary in the PHC. By amending the KP Local Councils (Conduct of Elections) Rules 2014, the government empowered political parties to submit names of additional candidates apart from the list submitted against different categories of reserved seats in district and tehsil councils elections. Zeeshan Munir Paracha, the lawyer for the ECP, said the KP Local Councils (Conduct of Elections) Rules 2014 were framed by the provincial government in exercise of powers conferred under Section 112 of the KP Local Government Act 2013. He said after the introduction of the new rule, political parties would be manipulating the already submitted lists of their candidates and had been replacing certain names with new ones.