NA-18 Haripur by-poll: ECP summons KP CM, PTI female candidate for ‘threatening’ admin

ISLAMABAD: The electoral body has summoned today (Friday) Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi and a female PTI-backed by-election candidate on National Assembly’s seat NA-18 Haripur— accusing the CM of threatening the district administration, police and electoral officials— during a recent public gathering.

The ECP, to this effect, has fixed the related case for hearing today, noon, issuing notices to the respondents over alleged violation of the by-poll code of conduct.

In a statement on Thursday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it took notice of CM KP’s public speech in Havelian (on Wednesday), in which, according to the ECP, CM Afridi threatened the district administration, police and electoral officials.

In the said statement, the ECP accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stalwart and former leader of the opposition in the NA Omar Ayub Khan of being “an absconded criminal.”

“An absconded criminal, whose wife is participating in the election, was standing next the CM,” an unusually strong-worded ECP statement said, in an obvious reference to Khan, whose wife Shehar Naz Omar Ayub is the PTI-backed candidate for NA-18 Haripur by-election scheduled on the coming Sunday (23 November).

The former NA opposition leader was present in the Havelian public gathering that was addressed by the CM KP.

“The irresponsible attitude of the chief executive of the province has not only made the conduct of peaceful election in NA-18 Haripur difficult, but has also endangered the lives of the district administration, police, and electoral officials, and the voters,” the statement said.

In related developments, the ECP wrote separate letters to the chief secretary KP, the inspector general of police KP, and the federal secretaries of defence, and interior.

The letters to the chief secretary and the IGP instructed the two officials to “personally” hold a meeting with the provincial election commissioner at the Provincial Election Commission in Peshawar on Thursday (20 November) regarding NA-18 by-poll. The letters to the two federal secretaries directed the provision of foolproof security with the deployment of civil armed forces/Pakistan Army during the said by-election.

In recent months, 16 PTI lawmakers, including Khan, the ex-NA opposition leader, were de-seated by the ECP following their convictions by the courts.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz is also among the disqualified and de-seated lawmakers.

These lawmakers comprise eight NA members, six members of the Punjab Assembly, and two senators.

Abdul Latif (NA-1 Chitral), Omar Ayub Khan (NA-18 Haripur), Ahmed Chattha (NA-66 Wazirabad), Rai Haider Ali (NA-96 Faisalabad), Sahibzada Hamid Raza (NA-104 Faisalabad), Rai Hassan Nawaz (NA-143 Sahiwal), Jamshaid Dasti (NA-175 Muzaffargarh), Zartaj Gul (NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan), Ansar Iqbal (PP-73 Sargodha), Ahmad Khan (PP-87 Mianwali), Junaid Afzal Sahi (PP-98 Faisalabad), Shahid Javed (PP-115 Faisalabad), Muhammad Ismael (PP-116 Faisalabad), Rai Murtaza Iqbal (PP-203 Sahiwal), Shibli Faraz (Senate) and Ejaz Chaudhary (Senate) were among the 16 legislators.

Except Dasti, the other 15 lawmakers were de-seated by the ECP keeping in view their convictions by the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) concerned in 9 May riots cases.

Dasti was disqualified by the electoral body on the charges of having fake educational credentials.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025