More PTI lawmakers disqualified

SARDAR SIKANDER SHAHEEN

ISLAMABAD: The electoral body has disqualified nine more Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PT) lawmakers from their legislative memberships - five members of National Assembly, three of Punjab Assembly, and a senator - in connection with their convictions by an anti-terrorism court related to 9 May riots - as the total number of PTI legislators who have been disqualified in the last three weeks in consequence of court verdicts now reaches 14.

Leader of the Opposition in NA Omar Ayub Khan and Leader of the Opposition in Senate Shibli Faraz are among the nine PTI lawmakers disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution on Tuesday.

The other lawmakers are Member National Assembly Rai Haider Ali (NA-96 Faisalabad), MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza NA-104 Faisalabad, MNA Rai Hassan Nawaz NA-143 Sahiwal, MNA Zartaj Gul (NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan), Member Provincial Assembly (PP-73 Sargodha), MPA Junaid Afzal Sahi (PP-98 Faisalabad) and MPA Rai Murtaza Iqbal (PP-203 Sahiwal).

Despite that the nine disqualified legislators belong to PTI, six of them had to contest the last year’s general elections on Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) tickets against the backdrop of PTI electoral symbol controversy.

The NA opposition leader was elected to NA as an independent candidate whereas the remaining four MNAs, and two of the three MPAs were elected on SIC tickets in the last year general elections.

Only one MPA Murtaza Iqbal, as well as the Senate opposition leader, were elected to the respective legislatures on the PTI tickets.

On 31 July, an ATC in Faisalabad sentenced PTI lawmakers to 10-year imprisonment over their alleged involvement in 9 May 2023 riots.

On 29 July, the ECP disqualified PTI MNA Abdul Latif under Article 63(1)(h) over his alleged involvement in 9 May riots.

A five-member ECP full bench heard different cases seeking Latif’s disqualification before deciding against him under Article 63(1)(h).