ISLAMABAD, (Parliament Times) : The Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has delivered a landmark judgment on local body elections. Local body elections in Azad Kashmir will be held for six months and free, transparent and impartial elections will be held before August 2022. While the Election Commission has insisted on holding elections by delimiting constituencies according to the new census of population according to the 2017 census. According to details, a petition was heard in the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir regarding the local body elections. A full court headed by Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram comprising Justice Khawaja Naseem Ahmed, Justice Raza Ali Khan and Justice Younis Tahir heard the case and delivered a landmark judgment regarding the conduct of elections. On behalf of the government, Secretary Local Government Aijaz Ahmad Khan and Assistant Advocate General Malik Muhammad Sajid along with other officers and representatives of Election Commission appeared. It should be noted that the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, with the formation of the new government, is determined that whatever the circumstances, he will definitely hold local body elections. The announcement of local body elections in Azad Kashmir is being highly appreciated in the public circles. All the political parties are mobilizing the local level leadership for the elections. It may be recalled that unlike other provinces, the last local body elections in Azad Kashmir were held in 1991. Since then, administrators have been appointed in local bodies. In this way the powers and resources at the local level also passed into the hands of the members of the Assembly. The history of local bodies in Azad Kashmir dates back to the 1960s. President Ayub Khan wanted to introduce a system of basic democracy, so the first experiment was done in Azad Kashmir. However, a more efficient and dynamic local government system came into being in 1978 during the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq. Which continued till 1996. During this time local elections were held three times. These elections have created tremendous political awareness and enthusiasm in the whole of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and especially in the youth. Numerous new faces have emerged who have played a significant role in politics for many years to come.
