KARACHI   -   The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday issued a written verdict on local government (LG) polls in Karachi and Hyderabad. A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Sindh High Court Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh heard the petitions and announced the reserved verdict against petitions filed by Jamaat-e-Isl­ami (JI) and PTI over delays in the elections in the two cities of Sindh. In its written judg­ment, SHC has ordered the ECP to immediately release the schedule for LG polls in Ka­rachi and Hyderabad.

The written verdict stated that ECP should release the schedule within the next 15 days and announce the election date by December 3. The ECP should complete all the neces­sary measures within 60 days, the court added. The court fur­ther said that the election date should be within these two months. The Sindh govern­ment is bound to provide secu­rity and other facilities for the LG polls. The Inspector general (IG) Sindh and chief secretary Sindh should make sure that all the necessary measures are taken in this regard.

Furthermore, the verdict stated that Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM) has reservations about the new amendments in the LG law and the delimitation of constituencies for LG polls. The reservations of MQM are not satisfactory enough to de­lay the local government elec­tions, the court order said. The court has already rejected MQM’s plea to postpone the LG polls in Sindh.