KARACHI: Immediately issue the schedule for conducting the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad, the Sindh High Court ordered the election commission on Friday while approving the pleas of PTI and JI pertaining to the delay in LG polls.

The high court, in its decision which was reserved on Monday, further ordered the provincial government to provide security and all the facilities to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

It rejected the MQM-P’s petition, seeking to stop the elections until amendments are made to the LG laws. The written order would be issued today (Friday).

The local bodies’ polls in Karachi and Hyderabad have been facing delays over the past many months, with the Sindh government doing it because of the “non-availability” of administrative staff and security personnel who according to them are busy in flood relief activities.

Reacting to the decision, PTI MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman thanked the court for the decision and added that it has ordered for holding of polls in four weeks. He accused the PPP and MQM of delaying polls.

“They [PPP and MQM] made excuses before as well, there is still fear that an excuse will be made to postpone the elections. Flood victims have been used as an excuse [to delay LG polls]. The troops, who are not present in Sindh, are busy stopping the long march in Islamabad,” he said in a statement.

He claimed that Karachi and Hyderabad would have mayors from PTI.

The provincial election commission needed 15 days to hold LG election, its representative told SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh in response to a query during the hearing of the case on November 14.

Moreover, the IG police had told the court that they have a shortage of personnel. “In 2015, 22,000 personnel were deployed, now 45,000 personnel are required,” he had said.

Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja accused the provincial cabinet of usurping ECP power and told the government to ask Punjab to provide police to meet the security shortfall while hearing pleas against the postponement of local government elections on Tuesday.

The upbraiding had come after the Sindh government’s decision to postpone the polls for another 90 days that were initially postponed due to rains.

“It is our responsibility to hold elections, you have taken this power from us,” the CEC remarked before the five-member bench he headed reserved its verdict on the matter.