On Monday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) dismissed the petitions filed by Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and others challenging the election of the Mayor of Karachi. The court stated that it would provide the reasons for its decision at a later date. During the proceedings, the bench focused on the mayoral election, questioning whether it constituted a separate poll. “Your case has been that the law was amended after the electoral process began,” the bench remarked, indicating that the timing of legal amendments was central to the arguments presented. The petitioner’s lawyer contended that the electoral process initiated with the notification from the election commission, which was altered to change the polling date. Conversely, the lawyer representing the Mayor of Karachi argued that the electoral college was incomplete before the law was amended, asserting that the mayoral election could not occur prior to this amendment. Barrister Murtaza Wahab of the Pakistan People’s Party emerged victorious in the Karachi mayoral election held on June 15, 2023, while Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman was the candidate fielded by Jamaat-e-Islami for the mayor’s office.
