BHC stops ECP from holding by-poll on NA-265 seat

QUETTA: Balochistan High Court (IHC) on Wednesday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order denotifying Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Qasim Suri, ARY News reported.

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf had accepted the resignation of the PTI lawmaker who resigned en masse after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s ouster as the prime minister last year in April.

The PTI leader Qasim Suri filed a petition in BHC challenging the ECP’s notification.

The high court also stopped the election body from holding a by-poll in NA-265 (Quetta), constituency.

Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s notification regarding the acceptance of PTI MNAs’ resignations from Islamabad.

Issuing the interim order on petitions filed by Asad Umar, Ali Nawaz Awan and Raja Khurram Nawaz, the IHC also suspended the process of by-elections in the petitioners’ constituencies.

IHC judge heard a petition filed by 3 PTI MNAs including former finance minister Asad Umar, Ali Nawaz Awan, and Khurram Nawaz, challenging two notifications – one issued by the National Assembly speaker through which their resignations were accepted and the second of ECP in which they had been de-notified.

After the suspension of de-notification orders of 4 more PTI MNAs, the by-polls will be held on 17 NA seats on March 16.

The by-polls will be held in the following constituencies:

• NA-04 Swat-III
• NA-17 Haripur-I
• NA-18 Swabi-I
• NA-25 Nowshera-I
• NA-26 Nowshera-II
• NA-32 Kohat
• NA-38 D I Khan-I
• NA-43 Khyber-I
• NA-241 Korangi Karachi-III
• NA-242 Karachi East-I
• NA-243 Karachi East-II
• NA-244 Karachi East-III
• NA-247 Karachi South-II
• NA-250 Karachi West-III
• NA-252 Karachi West-V
• NA-254 Karachi Central-II
• NA-256 Karachi Central-IV