Snow-bound districts: Opposition decides to challenge PHC order to postpone LG elections

MANSEHRA: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday announced to challenge the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad circuit bench’s order to postpone the Local government elections in five snow-bound districts of Hazara division.

“The PPP along with the likeminded political parties is going to challenge the Abbottabad-circuit bench’s ruling in the Supreme Court of Pakistan as weather turns a pleasant one in the month of March,” PPP district president Malik Farooq told reporters in Oghi.

Flanked by the other office-bearers of his party, he said that the opposition parties didn’t allow the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government to take advantage of the delay in the second phase of the local government’s elections in the Hazara division.

“We see the PTI behind the delay in these elections as its diehard workers even refused to run for the local government elections on its ticket in the current situation where people are committing suicides because of the hunger and unemployment,” Farooq said.

He added that the Election Commission of Pakistan had spent huge financial resources on these elections and postponing these exercises without solid reason would be a waste of money and time.

Farooq said that the PPP and other opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, would shortly move the apex court seeking the holding of second phase of LG elections in Hazara division as pre schedule.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on a writ petition moved by the PML-N senior vice-president Sardar Mohammad Yousuf had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold these elections on March 27 this year.

Meanwhile, the three-day training for the returning officers concluded here. The returning offices of Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar, Kolai-Palas and Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan districts participated in the workshop. The elections commission’s officials trained the returning officers how they could ensure the smooth and impartial second phase of the local government’s elections.