LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the federal government, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other respondents on a petition for halting the by-poll in the National Assembly constituency vacated after the disqualification of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza.

Justice Khalid Ishaq heard the petition filed by Mr Raza, challenging the by-election schedule for NA-104, Faisalabad.

Petitioner’s counsel Bassam Ahmad Siddiqui stated that Sahibzada Raza had been elected from NA-104 in the 2024 general election. He said the petitioner was disqualified following his conviction in a case related to May 9 riots. He argued that the ECP directly notified the disqualification of the petitioner without a reference sent by the National Assembly speaker, as required by law.

The counsel contended that the disqualification was made without fulfilling legal requirements and despite this, the ECP issued a schedule for the by-election, with polling set to be held on Nov 23.

The lawyer asked the court to declare the by-election schedule null and void.

The judge sought replies from the respondents within a week.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2025