A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to challenge the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) October 21, 2026 order and the local government election schedule for the federal capital.
Chaudhry Amjad Ali submitted the petition through his counsel, Barrister Adil Aziz Qazi. The legal challenge argues that local government polls cannot proceed without first resolving the legal status of existing constituency delimitations and conducting fresh, transparent boundary delineations in Islamabad.
According to the petition, the legal term for Islamabad's previous local government institutions expired in February 2021. The filing points out that the Elections Act 2017 mandates holding new elections within 120 days of a term's expiration. The petitioner contends that the ECP's current election schedule relies on outdated delimitations and highlights discrepancies between final lists showing 130 union councils and the framework under the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015, which provides for 125 union councils and 1,125 general wards.
The court filing requests that the ECP's October 21 order and election schedule be declared illegal and set aside. It also asks the court to suspend the electoral process until a final decision is reached and new, lawful delimitations are completed. The ECP, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Capital Development Authority (CDA), and other entities are listed as respondents.
