ISLAMABAD: By-elections in NA-258 (Karachi) — the only National Assembly constituency from Sindh where the PML-N won the 2013 general elections — will be held on Nov 22.

The seat fell vacant after the Minister of State for Communications, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, resigned from his NA membership.

According to the schedule issued by the Election Commission on Friday, the candidates will submit nominations on Oct 17 and 18, while the scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on Oct 20 and 21. The last date for appeals against acceptance or rejection by the returning officer is Oct 26 and the decisions by the election tribunal will be out by Oct 29. The last date for withdrawal of nomination is Nov 1 and the final list of candidates will be published the following day.

Mr Baloch had started his political career with the PPP and served as a provincial minister in Sindh. He was appointed the Minister of State for Railways under the Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique. He was later appointed the Minister of State for Communications by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif due to grievances regarding his post.

According to sources, he had complained against the appointment of communications secretary without his consent and also protested that he had no funds for development of the area from where he had been elected. As a mark of protests he abstained from sitting in his ministry’s office for months and also boycotted the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Karachi-Lahore motorway in March this year.

Published in Dawn October 8th, 2016