ISLAMABAD: A division bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended a single-judge verdict that had simultaneously directed the conduct of local government (LG) elections in the federal capital and struck down the recently-revised property tax despite the latter having received no judicial scrutiny in the detailed judgement.

The bench, comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Somroo and Justice Mohammad Asif, took up the intra-court appeals filed by the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and others, challenging the judgement authored by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani.

Justice Kiyani’s ruling, issued on November 10, had centred almost entirely on the statutory scheme of the Elections Act 2017. The judgement analysed the implications of repeated delays in holding LG polls in Islamabad and underscored the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) obligation to ensure continuity of elected local governance. The court described the prolonged absence of an elected Metropolitan Corporation as a governance vacuum affecting municipal administration.

However, the counsel for the appellant, Kashif Ali Malik, pointed out that the 39-page judgement carried no discussion on the property tax structure, its statutory basis, or the authority through which it was revised. The role of the administrator, who had approved the new tax schedule during the interregnum when no elected setup was functioning, was also not examined.

Despite this absence of reasoning, the operative paragraph of the ruling abruptly declared the revised property tax “set aside,” a conclusion that surprised both petitioners and respondents. Lawyers appearing before the division bench argued that the relief was granted without adjudication on the underlying fiscal and administrative issues.

Following the single-judge verdict, the ECP had issued directions to commence preparations for LG elections, treating Justice Kiyani’s observations as binding instructions. The suspension of the judgement has now placed those directives in limbo, unless the ECP independently justifies continuation of the process.

Mr Malik, counsel for the MCI, submitted that the impugned decision had travelled beyond the issues framed in the petitions. He argued that neither the administrator’s authority nor the legality of the revised property tax was examined by the court, yet the judgement had altered the fiscal structure of the capital without providing reasons.

The division bench issued notices to the respondents and sought their replies in the intra-court appeals. Until further orders, both the annulment of the property tax revision and the effect of the ECP’s subsequent instructions will remain suspended. The matter has been fixed for further hearing after completion of the record.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2025