ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday appeared before the Election Commission of Pakistan in a code of conduct violation case, as his lawyer challenged its jurisdiction in the matter.

The ECP had summoned the CM after he threatened the election staff during a political gathering in Havelian, Abbottabad, ahead of a by-election in Haripur (NA-18). CM Afridi was accused of threatening the staff since he had warned officials of consequences in case of rigging in the by-elections.

Arguing before a bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, his lawyer, Ali Bokhari, said the CM had not threatened anyone, claiming it was within the CM’s right to admonish officers.

He said the CM had already been issued a notice by the district monitoring officer, asking whether the case could simultaneously be heard by two forums. Mr Bokhari said DMO had also asked them to submit a reply on 27th.

He also pointed out that the election was held in Haripur while the CM addressed the rally in the Abbottabad district. Summoning the CM over a political rally in a district where the by-election was not taking place would “open a new Pandora’s box”, he warned.

The lawyer questioned the ECP if it would summon the PM and the Pun­jab chief minister for similar actions, noting that the Punjab CM had anno­unced development projects worth Rs2.5 billion in Hassanabdal.

The CEC said action would be ta­­k­en “without discrimination” and cla­rified that if the prime minister had made such a speech before the election, he too would have been issued a notice. The ministers and candidates in other constituencies had also been summoned over code of conduct violations, he added. It may be noted that Talal Chaudhry was also issued a notice for code of conduct violations in the recent by-election.

Mr Bokhari pressed the commission to first decide on the maintainability of the case. The ECP directed the KP CM’s lawyer to submit a written reply at the next hearing, saying that an appropriate order on maintainability would be issued.

The commission granted Sohail Afridi an exemption from appearing at the next hearing and adjou­rned proceedings until December 4. Later, CM Afridi’s lawyer formally challenged the ECP’s jurisdiction.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2025