ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Islamabad emir Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa on Thursday warned that any conspiracy to postpone the local government elections in the federal capital would not be tolerated, demanding that the polls be held on December 20 as scheduled.
Addressing a press conference at the Jamaat-e-Islami office in Melody, Randhawa said the present government had treated Islamabad and its people as its personal estate. He said Islamabad belonged to all its residents and citizens had the constitutional and democratic right to elect their representatives.
He said the last local government elections in Islamabad were held in 2015 and, under constitutional requirements and democratic traditions, fresh elections should have been held in 2021. However, he added, the elections had been postponed five times after being announced, and the government was now allegedly trying to have them delayed for a sixth time.
Randhawa said Islamabad was the federal capital of Pakistan and its citizens paid taxes, yet they remained deprived of basic facilities such as water, health and education. He said it was the right of citizens to have access to basic constitutional rights and to resolve local issues through their elected representatives.
He said thousands of people submitted nomination papers and paid heavy fees after the announcement of local government elections, but every time the polls were postponed, the amounts running into crores of rupees were not returned. He said more than 3,500 people had submitted nomination papers this time as well, and the government must answer for the injustice being done to the candidates.
The JI leader said his party had also approached the court and presented its clear stance that the citizens of Islamabad should not be deprived of their basic and democratic right. He demanded that the local government elections be held on December 20 as per schedule and that all necessary steps be taken for their free and transparent conduct.
He warned the government against any conspiracy or move to delay the elections. If the government once again tried to postpone the local government polls, he said, the people would come out on the roads. Jamaat-e-Islami, he added, stood with the citizens of Islamabad and would not remain silent over the denial of their basic rights.
JI Islamabad naib qaim Tasawwur Kazmi, political affairs president Huma Ayub, secretary Amir Baloch and information secretary Rab Nawaz Malik were also present on the occasion.
