ISLAMABAD: A day after deciding to summon Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and to issue contempt notice to Secretary Interior Khurram Agha, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Friday, listed the related case for hearing on the coming Tuesday regarding prolonged delay in the conduct of local government elections in the federal capital.
The cause list issued by the ECP suggested that the notices were issued to the interior minister, secretary interior and chief commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Ali Randhawa to appear before an ECP bench for the case hearing.
A day earlier on Thursday, the ECP’s five-member full bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the cases involving continued delay in holding LG elections in Islamabad and Punjab.
In the Islamabad LG elections delay case, Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa appeared before the bench. 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 Thursday’s 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. It also summoned Naqvi, the Interior Minister, in his personal capacity, for the next hearing of this case scheduled on the coming Tuesday (10 March).
In the Punjab LG polls delay case, Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Secretary LG Punjab Shakeel Ahmad Mian appeared before the bench. Zaman assured the ECP bench to provide the required data regarding Punjab LG system by the coming Thursday (12 March).
The bench decided to summon the deputy commissioners appointed in every district of Punjab from 13 March onwards, to directly obtain from them the required data, if the provincial government failed to provide the required documents by 12 March.
Presently, the local bodies are in place in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and cantonment boards, but LG elections in Punjab and the federal capital have been facing an inordinate delay since 2021.
The local bodies’ term in the ICT expired on 14 February 2021, and in Punjab on 31 December 2021.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026