ISLAMABAD: The by-elections on 13 seats of two legislative houses were held on Sunday amidst the boycott of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on most of these constituencies.
The polling had been concluded and the vote counting was under way on all the 13 seats— comprising six National Assembly and seven Punjab Assembly constituencies—till the filing of this report Sunday night.
NA-18 Haripur, NA-96 Faisalabad, NA-104 Faisalabad, NA-129 Lahore, NA-143 Sahiwal, NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, PP-73 Sargodha, PP-87 Mianwali, PP-98 Faisalabad, PP-115 Faisalabad, PP-116 Faisalabad, PP-203 Sahiwal and PP-269 Muzaffargarh are the seats on which by-polls were held.
The PTI mainly announced to boycott the by-elections alleging denial of a level playing field in the politics, but supported the candidates on two seats—NA-18 Haripur and NA-129 Lahore.
Shehar Naz Omar Ayub Khan, the wife of senior PTI leader and former leader of the opposition in the NA Omar Ayub Khan, is the PTI-supported candidate for NA-18. The ex-NA opposition leader presently stands disqualified from his legislative membership following his conviction at the hands of an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in a 9 May riots case.
Chaudhry Arsalan, the nephew of the late PTI’s lawmaker Mian Azhar from NA-129 Lahore, who passed away following an ailment in July this year, is the PTI-candidate on the said seat.
Some of the prominent candidates on the other seats that were boycotted by the PTI included Bilal Chaudhry, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) by-poll candidate for NA-96 Faisalabad, and the brother of State Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry and Rana Ahmed Shahryar, the PML-N’s candidate for PP-116 Faisalabad, who is the son-in-law of Political Advisor to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah.
Moreover, former chief minister Punjab Dost Muhammad Khosa, who previously belonged to the PML-N, is this time the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP’s) candidate for NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan.
Barring one, the seats on which the by-elections took place were previously held by the lawmakers mainly belonging to PTI, some of whom had to contest the last year’s general elections on Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) tickets, or as independents, in the context of PTI election symbol row controversy.
Of them, only one seat PP-269 Muzaffargarh was held by a lawmaker other than that of PTI. Mian Alamdar Abbas Qureshi from PPP won this seat in the general elections from February last year, but resigned a few weeks later, before a vote recount. The said seat since remained vacant, as the matter was left pending with the superior judiciary. Qureshi again contested the Sunday by-election on the said seat.
At least 17 legislative seats in three legislative houses—NA, PA and Senate—mainly held by the PTI lawmakers, fell vacant in recent months. Of the 17 seats, NA-129 Lahore is the only seat that fell vacant due to a legislator’s death, and not due to their disqualification.
The remaining 16 seats fell vacant in consequence of convictions of the PTI lawmakers by the courts.
These comprise eight NA, six PA, and two Senate seats.
The details of the respective lawmakers and seats are as follow: 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).
Except Dasti, the other 15 lawmakers were de-seated by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following their convictions by the ATCs concerned in 9 May riots cases.
Dasti was disqualified by the electoral body on the charges of having fake educational credentials.
By-elections on the two Senate seats have already been held. On one NA seat—NA-66 Wazirabad— Bilal Tarar from PML-N, the brother of Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar, has been declared as elected uncontested by the ECP.
Moreover, by-election elections on two NA seats— NA-1 Chitral and NA-175 Muzaffargarh— are not being held— as the related cases remain pending in the superior courts.
The by-elections were previously scheduled in September and October but were postponed by the ECP citing unprecedented flash floods in the monsoon season this year.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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