Withdrawal of Senator Murad Saeed’s de-notification challenged in Peshawar High Court
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Irfan Saleem on Saturday moved the Peshawar High Court challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s recent move to withdraw its decision to de-notify Murad Saeed as the senator and issue the by-election schedule to fill that seat of parliament. Mr Saleem, who was a contesting candidate in that by-poll, has filed a petition requesting the court to…
Peshawar High Court lawyers have been asked to overturn the Election Commission of Pakistan's recent decision to withdraw the de-notification of Murad Saeed as a senator and reschedule the by-election. Irfan Saleem, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader, filed a petition challenging the Election Commission's move, stating that the order of August 20, 2026, and a notification issued on August 27, 2026, were illegal, without jurisdiction, and had no legal effect.
Mr. Saleem argued that the de-notification of Saeed by the ECP on March 25, 2026, was final, and the seat had a "lawful casual vacancy" due to Saeed's conviction and subsequent sentence to 10 years in prison. Saleem further claimed that the Election Commission, acting like a constitutional court, had no authority to interpret the Constitution, and that the ECP exceeded its authority by removing the by-election schedule.
He requested the court to restore the by-election schedule and proceed with it, or issue a new election schedule and hold the election in strict compliance with Article 224(5) of the Constitution.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
