SUKKUR, Oct 11: A two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court, Sukkur circuit, has reserved its verdict on a petition concerning creation of 11 union councils in Ghotki district.

The bench comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani and Justice Ameer Hani Muslim will announce the verdict next week.

The petition in this connection was filed by PPP MPA Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Jam Mehtab Dahar and others through lawyers Mujeeb Pirzado and Imdad Awan.

Sindh advocate-general Anwar Mansoor, additional advocate-general Ghulam Dastagir Shahani and additional advocate attorney-general Farooq Pirzado represented the Sindh government.

The lawyer of the petitioner, Mr Imdad Awan, during his arguments termed the creation of 11 union councils as illegal.

He said the government had increased 11 union councils in the district by violating sections 6, 8 and 11 of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

He said the government was not empowered to shift certain Dehs from one taluka to other and termed the action based on ‘malintention’.

He said it was quite clear in the presidential order that only the Election Commission had the power to increase union councils.

He said the union councils had been increased in the district alone just to provide win to government-backed candidates.

He said it was evident from visits of the Sindh chief minister, ministers and advisors that they were interfering local body elections directly.

He said the union councils had been increased only to please four people while ignoring the population of 900,000 people who also should have been taken into confidence before issuing notification and fulfilling all demands of the law.

Sindh advocate-general Anwar Mansoor said the counsel of the petitioner was repeating the story again and again just to waste the time of the court.

He said that he used to come from Karachi to attend the court as he was responsible to defend the government in the province and the counsel of the petitioner were using delay tactics.

He requested the court to announce the verdict.

PROTEST: Hundreds of people from Arore and Rohri, carrying a body, blocked the National Highway for three hours on Tuesday following the murder of a villager.

The blockade continued for three hours and protestors were raising slogans against Shikarpur and Sukkur police.

The protestors carrying the body of deceased Hussain Bux reached at the Rohri bypass at about 11:00am and blocked the highway till 2:30pm.

As a result, hundreds of vehicles from and to Punjab become stranded at both the ends.

Police sources said the murder was the result of some matrimonial dispute between the parties.

Police said some three days back people from Gabol and Jatoi sides at gunpoint kidnapped three women Sakina, Mehran and Shahul along with Hussain Bux and took them to the katcha area of the Shikarpur district.

The kidnappers released the two women and shot dead Hussain Bux and threw his body at a desolated area.