The Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday suspended the upcoming local government elections in Quetta, issuing a stay order over objections to constituency delimitations.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ameenuddin Khan passed the interim order during preliminary hearings on a petition filed by Abdul Qadir.

Senior politician and lawyer Kamran Murtaza appeared on behalf of the petitioner.

The petitioner argued that electoral delimitations in Quetta were carried out under the 2017 census, while the 2023 census has since been officially notified.

He maintained that local body elections must be held under fresh delimitations based on the latest census data.

After hearing the arguments, the court issued a stay on the elections and served notices to the relevant federal and provincial authorities, seeking their responses at the next hearing.

Speaking to Aaj News, JUI leader Kamran Murtaza said his party had reservations about the Election Commission, questioning why elections were being conducted on the basis of the 2017 census despite the availability of updated data from 2023.

He stressed that elections should take place, but on lawful and transparent grounds.