Candidate backed by Khan’s party wins vacated Pakistan Senate seat

A candidate backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has been elected to the country’s upper house of parliament to fill a seat vacated after a conviction stemming from political unrest in May 2023.

The Election Commission of Pakistan said Khurram Zeeshan won the Senate seat previously held by opposition leader Shibli Faraz after securing 91 votes in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly.

His opponent, Taj Muhammad Afridi — backed jointly by several opposition parties — received 45 votes. A total of 137 ballots were cast, and one was rejected, the commission said.

The Awami National Party boycotted the vote entirely. The party accused rivals of “horse trading” and insisted that only a candidate from the provincial ruling majority should have been eligible to compete for the seat.

After his win, Zeeshan said his campaign aimed not only at securing the position but at contributing to Pakistan’s stability and economic well-being.

He pledged to use his new role to call for Khan’s release.

“My foremost goal is to raise my voice for the release of our party’s founder and former prime minister, Imran Khan, who remains behind bars,” Zeeshan said. “Without his freedom, true stability cannot be achieved.”

Sohail Afridi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, congratulated Zeeshan on his Senate victory, calling it “a testament to conscience-based voting and principled politics.”

He said the result reflects KP's continued trust in Khan’s vision and marks “another step in the movement for freedom, justice, and national dignity.”

Shibli Faraz’s conviction

Faraz was convicted by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad on July 7 for actions linked to nationwide protests that broke out on May 9, 2023. The Election Commission of Pakistan issued a formal notification on August 5 disqualifying him from the Senate.

The protests erupted after Khan — a former cricket star who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022 — was arrested in Islamabad on graft allegations. Demonstrations quickly spread, turning violent in some cities as supporters attacked government buildings and military sites.

The state responded with a wide-ranging crackdown, detaining thousands of PTI members and supporters. Many have been prosecuted under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws, and some have received convictions. Critics of the government have alleged that the prosecutions are politically motivated.