PESHAWAR: Former federal ministers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, including its provincial president Pervez Khattak, have deposited fines with a delay of around one year with the election commission over poll code violations.

They were fined by the monitoring officers for violating code of conduct in the second phase of the local body elections, which were held on March 31, 2022.

The monitoring officers had imposed a fine of Rs50,000 each on Mr Khattak and Shehryar Afridi, when they were federal ministers, for violating code of conduct by addressing public gatherings in Lower Dir and Kurram districts, respectively.

Recently, while announcing the National Assembly by-election schedule, the Election Commission of Pakistan had directed the district retuning officers to collect the fine from the former ministers as they were now contesting the NA by-polls.

Pervez Khattak is contesting by-elections on NA-25, Nowshera, and Shehryar Afridi from MA-31, Kohat, according to a statement issued by the ECP.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2023