Reply sought in plea for census before LG polls

LAHORE
The Lahore High Court Thursday issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan, federal government and the Punjab government in a petition seeking directives to hold census ahead of local bodies’ elections. A lawyer had challenged the delimitations of union councils in Punjab being done by the delimitation officials. The petitioner said the officials were dividing union councils on the basis of census held in the mid 80s. The division of union councils should be on the basis of new census. The government held censuses in 1998 but now the local bodies’ elections were being held while the census had not been held which was unlawful. The local bodies’ elections without census would be an unfruitful effort, he pointed out. The petitioner prayed the court to order the authorities concerned to hold census prior to the local bodies’ elections.