Peshawar High Court rejects Afridi’s plea challenging ECP proceedings

The Peshawar High Court dismissed a petition filed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday, rejecting his claim that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) improperly initiated proceedings against him for alleged violations of election code of conduct during Haripur by-elections in November 2025. The court's bench, consisting of Justices Syed Arshad Ali and Muhammad Faheem Wali, dismissed the petition without addressing the ECP's jurisdiction, as per an earlier court ruling.

Consequently, a previous stay order granted to Afridi also was vacated. Following the initial hearing, the high court had instructed the ECP to proceed with the case but refrain from issuing a final adverse decision until further notice. The dispute highlights escalating tensions between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and federal governments over a protest march.

Lawyers represented Afridi and the ECP, with the latter's counsel arguing that Afridi's speech fell outside the jurisdiction of the contested by-election and that the ECP's proceedings were distinct from those by the district monitoring officer. Afridi's legal team claimed that the ECP had improperly combined a private complaint with its own proceedings, potentially leading to disqualification.

Earlier, both Afridi and the by-election candidate Shehrnaz Omar Ayub had challenged ECP notices for alleged code of conduct violations.