Overview
- The Election Commission of Pakistan withdrew the Islamabad local government election schedule, halting the Feb. 15 vote.
- The withdrawal followed a federal ordinance that revised the capital’s local setup and altered the election mode.
- The Islamabad High Court issued notices to the federal government and the ECP on a Jamaat-e-Islami petition and set the next hearing for Jan. 27.
- Reports conflict on the ordinance’s issuance date, a timing dispute central to the petition’s claim that the change was meant to delay polls.
- The ordinance replaces the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad with three town corporations and expands an administrator’s powers until new elections.