Islamabad
Punjab government on Monday filed a review petition in Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) against the restoration of the local bodies system in the province.
The chief secretary Punjab has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court, asking the apex court to reconsider its March 25 decision to restore the local bodies system in the province on the basis of previous delimitations.
The government took a plea that the delimitation under which 2013 polls were carried out have been abolished and restoring the local governments for few months will cause a loss of billions to the national exchequer.
“We have carried out new delimitation,” the chief secretary apprised the court in a plea from the Punjab government and asked the court to annul its March 25 decision.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court (SC) on May 25 restored the local government system in Punjab, by terming the Local Bodies Act 2019 in contradiction with the Constitution of Pakistan.
The Punjab Local Government Act 2019 was passed by the provincial legislature in May 2019.
A bench of the Supreme Court headed by CJP Justice Gulzar Ahmed, terming section three of the Local Bodies Act in contradiction of the constitution, ordered to restore the local government system in Punjab.
During the hearing, the additional attorney general of Punjab apprised the court that the Punjab government is ready to hold Local Bodies polls, to ensure devolution of powers to grass-root level.
The matter is currently under discussion in the Council of Common Interest (CCI), he added.—INP
