Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that the election of his wife, Begum Kulsoom, by voters in Lahore's NA-120 constituency was an indication that they supported his stance on his disqualification from public office.
The former premier, who spoke to reporters in London on Saturday, has been missing from the political scene as he is spending time with his wife who is undergoing cancer treatment in the United Kingdom.
Following the landmark Supreme Court judgement on the Panama Papers case, Sharif has claimed his disqualification was a conspiracy, and has repeatedly asked, "Why was I disqualified?"
The former premier also said it was a matter of concern if banned organisations were being allowed to contest elections.
In the run-up to the NA-120 by-poll, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan urged voters in the constituency to use their vote to show the Supreme Court that it rejects "criminals".
The highly-contested election had been viewed as a litmus test to see how the SC verdict affected those who have elected Nawaz to office thrice in since 1990.
While the ruling party fielded Kulsoom, Dr Yasmin Rashid contested the election for PTI. The PPP had fielded Faisal Mir, the party's former Lahore chapter information secretary, as its candidate.
The competition between Kulsoom and Rashid was said to be close. In the 2013 General Election, Rashid had received 52,354 votes against Nawaz.
However, voter turnout in the by-poll was dismal at just 33 per cent, and while Begum Kulsoom bagged 61,254 votes, Rashid made inroads into the PML-N bastion with 47,066 votes.
