Naqvi summoned: ECP to hear case about prolonged delay in LG polls in ICT today

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is scheduled to hear today (Tuesday) the case involving prolonged delay in the conduct of local government elections in the federal capital in which Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has been summoned along with two other senior officials of the Interior Ministry and the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA).

Last week, the ECP issued notices to the interior minister, Secretary Interior Khurram Agha and Chief Commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Ali Randhawa to appear before an ECP bench for the case hearing.

The secretary interior has been issued contempt notice in the same case over his alleged failure to comply with the Commission’s instructions over holding LG elections.

In the last hearing of this case on Thursday, Randhawa, the Chief Commissioner, appeared before the ECP’s five-member full bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

Agha, the Secretary Interior, did not show up at the hearing despite having been summoned by the bench. Instead, an additional secretary from the Interior Ministry attended the hearing.

The ECP officials concerned briefed the bench in the hearing that three letters were sent to the secretary interior by the electoral body seeking relevant details concerning the LG system in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

However, the secretary interior did not respond to any of the three letters, the bench was informed on Thursday. The bench inquired about the absence of the interior secretary from the hearing. The additional secretary replied that the secretary could not appear before the bench due to his meeting with the Prime Minister.

The bench took strong exception to the secretary’s conduct, directing the ECP Secretariat to issue a contempt notice to Agha in Thursday’s hearing.

The bench summoned Naqvi, the Interior Minister, in his personal capacity, for the hearing of this case scheduled today (Tuesday).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026