Pakistan court ends freeze on by-elections for vacant parliamentary seats

A Pakistani court has lifted a temporary ban on by-elections for several parliamentary seats vacated after the disqualification of opposition lawmakers accused in the violent May 9, 2023 protests, effectively maintaining their disqualification.

The ruling keeps senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz and Abdul Latif barred from office, while directing them to appear before the relevant courts.

PHC ruling on PTI leaders

In its 31-page judgment, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) noted that the PTI leaders had already been convicted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC). “The leaders had filed appeals against the convictions but failed to surrender before the trial courts,” the ruling stated, adding that “under such circumstances, no relief could be granted.”

The court observed that the petitions could only proceed once the leaders present themselves before the trial courts. “The disqualification is the outcome of their conviction, so they cannot perform their constitutional functions as members of the Senate or National Assembly,” the judgment said.

Timeline of disqualification and appeals

On August 6, the PHC had suspended by-elections through an interim order, responding to petitions filed by PTI leaders challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification of their disqualification.

Ayub and Faraz were convicted by ATC Faisalabad on July 7, while Latif was convicted by an ATC in Islamabad on May 30, alongside several other PTI leaders. The ECP subsequently issued a notification on August 5 formally disqualifying them from office.

Context of May 9 protests

The disqualifications are rooted in the violent protests that erupted across Pakistan on May 9, 2023, after former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested by paramilitary forces at the Islamabad High Court in a graft case.

The arrest triggered widespread unrest, with PTI supporters staging violent demonstrations, attacking public property, and targeting military installations - including the Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander’s residence in Lahore.

The state responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining thousands of PTI leaders, workers and supporters. Many were charged under anti-terrorism laws, with dozens convicted in cases that critics have described as “politically motivated prosecutions.”