ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday delisted a case against Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi and Shehar Naz Omar Ayub Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate for the recently held by-election on the National Assembly’s seat NA-18 Haripur.
The case was scheduled to be heard today (Thursday).
The delisting notice issued by the ECP states that the case has been delisted due to the unavailability of the bench.
A new date for the case hearing was not announced till the filing of this report.
The ECP’s five-member full bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, is hearing this case.
On 20 November, the ECP said it took notice of CM KP’s public speech in Havelian, a tehsil of district Abbottabad, delivered a day earlier on 19 November.
The poll entity accused CM Afridi of threatening the district administration, police, and electoral officials assigned to hold the NA-18 by-election, which was held on 23 November.
In this context, the poll body summoned Afridi and Shehar Naz Omar Ayub Khan, the PTI-backed Haripur by-poll candidate, who is the wife of former NA opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan.
The NA-18 had fallen vacant following Omar’s disqualification at the hands of an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in a case registered in connection with the 9 May riots.
In the last hearing of this case on 25 November, Ali Bukhari, the CM KP’s counsel, challenged the maintainability of this case on the ground that a similar case was pending with the district monitoring officer (DMO) of NA-18.
The ECP bench reserved its verdict on this count, which was issued later, in which the poll body held in abeyance the proceedings before the DMO, in the last hearing.
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 the ECP did not take notice. The Punjab chief minister even announced development projects for NA-18, he said.
“There should be no discrimination. Every political party and candidate should be treated equally,” Bukhari submitted before the bench in the 25 November hearing.
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 in the last hearing of this case.
The ECP bench granted the CM KP exemption from physical appearance for the remaining hearings, and adjourned the case till 4 December (today).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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