The Islamabad High Court has reserved its judgement on the cases challenging the delimitation of various districts of the country. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir remarked that he will issue an appropriate order that will be useful in the future as well.
The court was hearing a case challenging the delimitation of National and provincial assembly constituencies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Punjab.
The Islamabad High Court reserved the decision after hearing the arguments of the Election Commission of Pakistan and lawyers of all parties. Justice Tahir said he would issue an appropriate order that will be useful in the future as well.
The court asked how assembly seats can reduce if the country’s population has increased.
“Our hands are tied after the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday,” Justice Tahir remarked.
The court asked the election commission’s lawyer if they announced the delimitation schedule under Section 57 and the number of voters for the National Assembly constituencies.
“Under the Election Act, do you have the power to merge constituencies when population increases? Tell us, where is it written in the Elections Act that if the population is high, an area should be merged into another constituency?” asked the court.
Justice Tahir said a census should be held every 10 years, but that does not happen here.
The election commission has no authority to reduce assembly seats when the population increases, the court remarked.
The ECP lawyer told the court that there should be a population of 900,000 for a region to be declared a National Assembly constituency.
Lawyers Syed Qamar Sabzwari, Qasim Nawaz Abbasi and others appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioners, while the Election Commission of Pakistan was represented by Zaigham Anees and Saman Mamoon.
The petitioner’s lawyer said the NA-8 Bajaur constituency has a total population of 1.3 million and the constituency has also been given one, the lawyer petitioner said, adding that the election commission itself is violating Section 20 of the Elections Act.
The delimitation of National Assembly’s 93 and 94 constituencies of Chiniot of Punjab, as well as 106, 107 of District Toba Tek Singh, NA-8 of Bajaur, provincial assembly seats of NA-121 and 124 of district Toba Tek Singh and 41 and 42 of Sanghar district of Sindh.
