ISLAMABAD: The electoral entity has suspended the by-poll schedule for National Assembly’s seat NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, fell vacant due to the disqualification of Zartaj Gul from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), pursuant to an order issued by the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
The NA-185 was among seven legislative seats where by-elections were scheduled this 5 October before the PHC stayed the election on this seat on Gul’s petition. The schedule for the other six seats – three seats each from NA and Punjab Assembly — remains unchanged.
These seats are: NA-96 Faisalabad, NA-104 Faisalabad, NA-143 Sahiwal, PP-73 Sargodha, PP-98 Faisalabad and PP-203 Sahiwal.
As many as 14 PTI legislators – 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), Zartaj Gul (NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan), Ansar Iqbal (PP-73 Sargodha), Ahmad Khan (PP-87 Mianwali), Junaid Afzal Sahi (PP-98 Faisalabad), Rai Murtaza Iqbal (PP-203 Sahiwal), Shibli Faraz (Senate) and Ejaz Chaudhary (Senate) were disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following their convictions by the courts.
Except Dasti, other 13 lawmakers were disqualified by the ECP following their convictions by the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) concerned in 9 May riots’ cases. Dasti was disqualified by the electoral entity on the charges of having fake educational credentials.
In total, 15 seats in NA, PA and Senate, previously held by lawmakers belonging to PTI, are presently vacant, of which all but one seat fell vacant due to the disqualification of related legislators by the electoral body.
These seats comprise nine NA, four PA and two Senate seats.
Of the 15 seats, NA-129 Lahore is the only seat that fell vacant due to a lawmaker’s death, and not due to a legislator’s disqualification, after PTI’s Mian Azhar passed away following protracted illness last month.
By-elections on five seats stand postponed due to stay orders issued by the respective courts. These seats are: one general Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vacated by Faraz, and four NA seats — NA-1 Chitral, NA-18 Haripur, NA-175 Muzaffargarh and NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan.
By-elections on two NA seats and a PA seat — NA-66 Wazirabad, NA-129 Lahore and PP-87 Mianwali are scheduled this 18 September.
In addition, by-poll on one general Senate seat from Punjab, vacated by Chaudhary, is scheduled on 9th September 2025.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025