ISLAMABAD : A single bench comprising
Justice, Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ruled on different petitions filed by former Union Council (UC) chairman Sardar Mehtab, Capital Development Authority (CDA) trade union and CDA Officers Association – against the Islamabad Local Government Ordinance 2021. The petitioners had raised legality of the Local Government Ordinance 2021 and pleaded before the high court that the government decision of promulgate the ordinance in question was based on ill-intention.
The government had issued the said ordinance last year which was
was challenged in the high court through various petitions. The petitioners raised questions about the future of elected representatives in the presence of the Local Government Act, limiting the role of the chairman by introducing a new local government system through an ordinance and in the absence of a formal law under it. Barrister Omar Ijaz Gilani, Qazi Adil, Kashif Malik and other lawyers presented arguments on behalf of the petitioners
The public prosecutor also prayed that the parliamentary session ended on November 19 whereas the ordinance was issued on November 23.
The court after hearing the counsels of all the parties declared the ordinance null and void and ruled out that local body elections should be held under the Local bodies Act 2015.