Defence Secretary apologises to SC for not holding LG elections

ISLAMABAD: Defence Secretary Asif Yasin Malik apologized to the Supreme Court on Tuesday for not holding local government elections on time in the cantonment boards, Express News reported. On October 11 the Supreme Court had issued a contempt notice to Yasin for not holding the elections despite repeated instructions from the court. The three-member bench of the Suupreme Court was unusually blunt in the contempt notice, warning the authorities that if they failed to comply, the law would take its own course. The bench, headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had ordered advocates generals of all the provinces to present their stance about holding local government polls in their respective provinces on October 14. Attorney General for Pakistan Munir A Malik had been directed to act as prosecutor general in Yasin’s contempt case. The show cause notice to the defence secretary had been issued under Article 204 of the Constitution read with Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ECP in a letter to the government had previously expressed its serious apprehensions over possible delay in the local government elections in cantonment areas. After a meeting with cantonment authorities and defence secretary, ECP on September 10 had announced that elections in 42 cantonment areas will be held in the first week of November. Sources in the ECP had said that the day after the announcement was made defence secretary had approached the commission to inform it of the Prime Minister’s decision to constitute a 12-member committee which will deliberate on proposed amendments in cantonments act 1927. In stark contrast, a day earlier he had informed the commission that the Prime Minister had approved the proposed draft of the amendments which had been sent to the President for his approval. The changed stance of the defence secretary had irked the ECP. In response the Secretary ECP had written a letter to attorney general expressing apprehensions that a delay in legislation could cause unnecessary delays in holding of polls. “It will not be possible to hold LG elections in November if the laws were not amended now. The Supreme Court deadline of September 15 has been missed by all the four provinces and the cantonment areas,” a top official of ECP had told The Express Tribune. The Supreme Court had asked the government to hold local bodies elections throughout the country by September 15. However, except the cantonment areas where tangible progress had been made no province is in a position to hold LG polls this year. The pre-requisite for holding the LG polls is delimitation of constituencies by the provinces, passing of local government laws by provincial legislatures and framing of rules. Some provinces had passed the laws but opposition parties in their respective assemblies had challenged them in courts. A new controversy had been generated after the Prime Minister constituted a committee to look into proposed amendments. This can cause delay in holding of polls, ECP officials said.