PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to pleas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and a candidate in the Senate by-election, Irfan Saleem, challenging the commission’s order to suspend the electoral process.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Mohammad Faheem Wali fixed May 21 for next hearing into the petitions filed by the two petitioners directing the respondents including the ECP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Jalal Khan to submit their replies until then.

Swati and Saleem, in almost identical petitions, have requested the court to declare that the impugned order issued by a bench of ECP on April 21 and a notification issued later the same day were illegal and unconstitutional.

A three-member ECP bench had suspended the by-election on a Senate seat, for which polling was scheduled for April 23, following a petition filed by MPA Jalal Khan.

PA speaker, candidate request PHC to set aside Election Commission’s order

The Senate seat fell vacant as the then incumbent, Murad Saeed, was de-notified by the commission on March 25.

Both the petitioners requested the court to declare that a lawful vacancy arose pursuant to the de-notification of March 25, and the said de-notification remained unchallenged by an aggrieved person.

They prayed the court to declare that the respondent (Jalal Khan) had no locus standi to file the application before ECP and the entire exercise undertaken by the commission was without any legal basis and lacked any constitutional authority.

The petitioners requested the court to set aside the impugned order and notification and directed ECP and provincial election commissioner of KP to proceed with the Senate by-election forthwith in accordance with law.

Irfan Saleem is the president of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for Peshawar district. He was the candidate of the party for the vacant seat.

Advocates Ali Gohar Durrani and Bashir Khan Wazir appeared for the petitioners, whereas Barrister Mohammad Yaseen Raza represented respondent Jalal Khan.

Mr Durrani said that the Senate seat from KP had fallen vacant consequent upon the de-notification of Murad Saeed by ECP through a notification on March 25, which remained unchallenged to date.

He said that Mr Saeed was declared a proclaimed offender by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi and pursuant to the decision an applicant Mohammad Aslam filed an application for his disqualification under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution.

The lawyer said that ECP issued de-notification of Murad Saeed after disqualifying him. He added that the said application or proceedings or the de-notification remained unchallenged till date.

He said that pursuant to the said vacancy, ECP issued a schedule for by-election strictly in accordance with law.

Mr Durrani said that the ruling party in the province had nominated his client Irfan Saleem, whose nomination papers were duly accepted and he was declared a contesting candidate by the returning officer on April 18, 2026.

He contended that Jalal Khan, who was not an aggrieved person, filed an application before ECP, seeking suspension of the by-election on the alleged premise that no lawful vacancy had arisen.

The counsel said that Article 224(5) of the Constitution mandated that a Senate vacancy must be filled within 30 days, and the impugned suspension was in clear violation of the said constitutional provision.

Barrister Yaseen said that in the case, no lawful vacancy had ever existed as Murad Saeed never took oath nor entered his office and therefore, he never became a member of the Senate in the constitutional sense. He added that when the law had no mention of any vacancy, there could be no by-election.

After preliminary hearing, the bench decided to put off the hearing and sought replies of the respondents to the pleas.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2026