Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against a possible postponement of local government elections in the federal capital, scheduled for Dec. 20, and threatened street protests if the polls are delayed.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Jamaat-e-Islami Islamabad Ameer Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa said the party had filed a writ petition in the IHC and completed the required biometric verification process.
He said local government elections in Islamabad had been postponed six times, depriving residents of their democratic rights.
Randhawa said the last local government elections were held in 2017 and fresh polls should have taken place in 2021.
He said more than 3,500 candidates had submitted nomination papers for the Dec. 20 elections and the scrutiny process was underway, but the government was allegedly attempting to postpone the polls again.
He accused the government of avoiding elections while collecting non-refundable fees from candidates during the electoral process.
Randhawa said Islamabad covered a vast area, including Bhara Kahu, Rawat, Haji Camp, Tarnol and the Margalla Hills, where residents faced serious problems due to inadequate civic facilities.
He said several areas lacked basic amenities, while roads and streets remained in poor condition.
The JI leader said the government had treated Islamabad’s residents as subjects rather than citizens entitled to democratic representation.
He said Islamabad was comparable to a province in its administrative needs and its residents should not be deprived of elected local representation.
Randhawa demanded that the government ensure local government elections were held on Dec. 20 without further delay.
He said Jamaat-e-Islami was fielding candidates from every union council and expressed confidence that the party would secure the mayoral position.
He said the party would stage a sit-in and launch street protests in Islamabad if the elections were postponed.
“The government should not conspire to postpone the elections. If the people are denied their rights, we will join them on the streets,” he said.
