By-poll on NA-18 Haripur: KP CM claims figures issued by RO offices ‘are totally different’

ISLAMABAD: KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has said that the presiding officers of the recently held by-election on National Assembly’s seat NA-18 Haripur issued Forms 45 “despite all kinds of pressure,” but, according to him, the results did not match with those issued by the returning officers.

He has also reiterated not to apologise to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the case against him regarding NA-18 by-election, saying he would submit a reply to the electoral body in this regard.

“The presiding officers are part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government — they issued the Forms 45 despite all kinds of pressure — the returning officers are from the Election Commission, and the polling staff that was deployed inside the polling stations is from the federal government,” he told the media after the hearing of NA-18 by-election case at the ECP headquarters on Tuesday.

“The images and proofs that have surfaced — it can be clearly seen that Forms 45 have the signatures of polling agents and presiding officers — the polling agents of both candidates signed these forms — but the figures issued by the RO offices on television are different,” he said.

On 20th November, the ECP said it took notice of CM KP’s public speech in Havelian, a tehsil of district Abbottabad, delivered a day earlier.

The ECP accused CM Afridi of threatening the district administration, police and electoral officials assigned to NA-18 by-election in the said speech.

In this context, the poll body summoned Afridi and Shehrnaz Omar Ayub Khan, the PTI-backed Haripur by-poll candidate, who is wife of former NA opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan.

When asked by the journalists on Tuesday if he would submit an apology to the ECP in this case, the CM KP, responded, “We made no mistake. We will submit a reply.”

Afridi denied that he was following an aggressive policy towards the state institutions. “We only talk about the constitution and the law,” he said.

The CM said he asked PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja to form a committee to probe if there was any foul play on part of the KP government in the Haripur by-poll, and share its report with him. Action would be taken against any provincial government official if they are found guilty on this count, he said.

Regarding his Havelian speech, CM Afridi said, he emphasised on the implementation of the constitution and law in his speech.

Speaking on the occasion, Raja, the PTI SG, said, the CM KP showed adherence to the law by appearing before the ECP bench.

“It is the duty of the CM KP to caution his provincial officials to work as per law and the constitution — this is no threat,” he said.

PTI, Raja said, would issue a white paper regarding NA-18 Haripur by-election.

Earlier, during the case proceedings, Ali Bukhari, the CM KP’s counsel, challenged the maintainability of this case on the grounds that a similar case was pending with the district monitoring officer (DMO) of NA-18, scheduled to be heard on 28th November.

The five-member full bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, reserved its verdict on this count.

Bukhari said the federal and provincial public office-holders from Punjab including CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz issued several statements that were tantamount to influencing the by-elections, but, he said, the ECP did not take notice.

The CM Punjab announced development projects for NA-18, he said.

“There should be no discrimination. Every political party and candidate should be treated equally,” Bukhari told the bench.

Sajeel Swati, the counsel for Babar Nawaz Khan from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the petitioner in the case, alleged that the CM KP clearly tried to intimidate the police, district administration and election officials in his Havelian speech, and demanded action against Afridi.

The ECP bench granted the KP chief minister exemption from physical appearance for the remaining hearings, and adjourned the case till 4th December.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025