Punjab reply sought on Faisalabad mayor’s plea

LAHORE:The Lahore High Court on Thursday sought a reply from the Punjab government on a petition of Faisalabad Mayor Razzaq Malik seeking issuance of a notification in respect of the period he remained out of office till the restoration by the Supreme Court.

The petitioner’s counsel, Awais Khalid, contended before the court that the petitioner was holding the office of mayor being duly elected through an electoral process under the Punjab Local Government, 2013 for a term ending on December 31, 2021. He said the petitioner’s democratic term of five years was curbed through Section 3 (1) of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019. He said the petitioner, being aggrieved, along with other elected members of local government approached the apex court whereby the court passed a judgment restoring the LG system. The counsel argued that the vested right accrued in favour of the petitioner could not be taken away by the illegal actions of the government. He said the government was bound to follow the SC judgment and its failure was not less than defiance and an endeavor to frustrate the law declared by the court.

He requested the court to direct the government to issue a notification in respect of 24 months, the period the petitioner remained out of his office of the mayor, as directed by the SC. He also asked the court to restrain the government from holding LG elections till the expiry of the petitioner’s tenure.