Govt withdraws Pakistan Telecommunication reorganisation bill from Senate

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has formally withdrawn its April 2 notification for the by-election programme for a general Senate seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was declared vacant following the disqualification of PTI senator-elect Murad Saeed. The decision came a week after critics accused the ECP of acting like a court by interpreting the Constitution to claim no lawful vacancy had been created.

Saeed was declared a returned candidate for the general seat on July 24, 2025, but on March 7, he was convicted by Rawalpindi’s Anti-Terrorism Court-I and sentenced to 10 years in prison. On March 25, the ECP determined that Saeed had been disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, making his seat vacant. The by-poll was scheduled for April 23, but the process was halted after PML-N MPA Jalal Khan filed a petition arguing that no lawful vacancy existed to justify the by-election.

In its detailed order, the ECP highlighted a clear constitutional distinction between a "returned candidate" and a "Member of Parliament." According to the commission, a returned candidate's oath-taking is required before they can enter their office, and until that oath is administered, they remain a person elected to the House, not a Member of Parliament.

The ECP also interpreted Articles 64 and 63(1) to mean that disqualification leading to a vacancy applied only to someone who had already acquired membership. Therefore, the seat did not become vacant until the constitutional status of membership was established.

The commission concluded that since Murad Saeed had not yet acquired the status of a Member of Parliament despite his conviction, no lawful vacancy had arisen in respect of the seat. Consequently, the ECP accepted the application to withdraw the April 2 election programme, maintaining that a by-election did not need to be held.