PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Irfan Saleem on Saturday moved the Peshawar High Court challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s recent move to withdraw its decision to de-notify Murad Saeed as the senator and issue the by-election schedule to fill that seat of parliament.

Mr Saleem, who was a contesting candidate in that by-poll, has filed a petition requesting the court to declare that the impugned ECP order of Aug 20, 2026, and a notification issued on Aug 27, for withdrawing the by-election schedule were illegal, without jurisdiction and of no legal effect.

He insisted that the de-notification of Mr Saeed by the ECP on March 25, 2026, had attained finality, while a “lawful casual vacancy” existed in respect of the relevant Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that the ECP was not a constitutional court, so it couldn’t interpret the Constitution like the Constitutional Court.

The petitioner sought the court’s orders for the ECP to restore the Senate by-election schedule forthwith and proceed with it from the stage at which it was suspended or a fresh election schedule should be issued and the electoral exercise should be held in strict and expedited compliance with Article 224(5) of the Constitution.

Tehreek-i-Insaf leader requests PHC to order restoration of by-poll schedule

He also requested the court to set aside the application of Jalal Khan, an MPA of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, filed with the ECP, the resultant interim orders and the impugned order of Aug 20 and the notification of Aug 27.

The petition filed through senior lawyer Ali Gohar Durrani includes as respondents the ECP through its chief election commissioner and secretary, the KP provincial election commissioner, MPA Jalal Khan and four by-election candidates.

The petitioner said that he was a duly nominated and accepted contesting candidate for the Senate seat from KP arising out of the casual vacancy occasioned by the de-notification of Mr Saeed by the ECP.

He said that a Senate general seat from KP fell vacant consequent upon the conviction of Mr Saeed by an anti-terrorism court Rawalpindi on March 7, 2026, whereby he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment; and his consequent de-notification by the ECP through a notification on March 25, 2026.

He contended that the said de-notification was never assailed by Mr Saeed or by any other person before any competent forum and had attained finality.

The petitioner said that pursuant to the said vacancy, the ECP issued an election schedule for holding a by-election to the said Senate seat, with the poll date fixed as April 23, in accordance with law.

He said that he submitted nomination papers, which were duly accepted, and he was declared a contesting candidate as per the list issued by the provincial election commissioner on April 18.

The petitioner said that the Respondent (Jalal Khan) moved an application before the ECP for suspension of the Senate by-election on the premise that no lawful vacancy had arisen since Mr Saeed had not taken oath as Member of the Senate.

He contended that the ECP without lawful jurisdiction and in excess of its mandate, entertained the said application of a person having no locus standi, and through an order on April 21, 2026, suspended the by-election process; and by a further notification of same date also suspended the de-notification of March 25.

Mr Saleem said that the said interim order and notifications were challenged by him before this high court, which remained pending disposal.

He said that during the pendency of the said petition, proceedings continued before the ECP on the application of Jalal Khan.

The petitioner said that the ECP accepted the application of Jalal Khan and passed the impugned order of Aug 20, holding that Mr Saeed, not having taken oath as a member of the Senate, had never acquired the constitutional status of ‘Member’, that consequently no lawful vacancy had arisen in respect of the seat, and withdrew the election programme issued for the said by-election.

He added that on Aug 27, the ECP notified the withdrawal of the election schedule.

Mr Saleem contended that the ECP exceeded its constitutional and statutory mandate by itself assuming the role of final interpreter of substantive constitutional questions touching the interplay of Articles 63, 64, 65 and 255(3) of the Constitution.

He said that the ECP was not vested with jurisdiction to conclusively adjudicate a disputed question of constitutional status having far-reaching consequences for the composition of a house of Parliament, which properly fell within the domain of the superior courts.

The petitioner contended Jalal Khan, being merely an MPA, was neither the convicted returned candidate (Mr Saeed), nor a Member of the Senate, nor a contesting candidate with the subject by-election, and consequently had no locus standi to move the application which resulted in the impugned order.

He added that the impugned order, passed on the application of a third party, amounted to an impermissible review and recall of the Commission’s own prior, final administrative act, for which no power of review was vested in it either under the Constitution or the Elections Act, 2017.

Mr Saleem contended that the impugned order, in effect, permitted a convicted and sentenced individual to indefinitely block a Senate seat by the simple expedient of not taking oath, thereby depriving the people of KP of representation in the Senate for an indefinite and unascertainable period.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2026