Peshawar, August 12, 2025: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the appointment of new opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, days after PTI leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz were disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal issued a stay order and directed the National Assembly speaker, Senate chairperson, and other officials to submit replies by August 15.
On August 5, the ECP disqualified Ayub and Faraz—along with several other opposition MNAs and MPAs—after their conviction in three cases linked to the May 9, 2023 riots. The NA and Senate secretariats formally removed both leaders on August 8.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, representing the petitioners, argued that the ECP acted without authority, as no reference for disqualification had been sent by the NA speaker or Senate chairperson. He termed the move a “constitutional overreach” and stressed that opposition leadership is a constitutional position that cannot be removed unilaterally.
Quoting a past Supreme Court ruling, Gohar maintained that once a candidate becomes an elected member, the ECP’s jurisdiction ends. Speaking to reporters outside the court, he criticised the current wave of disqualifications, warning that sidelining the country’s largest political party would endanger democracy. He also alleged discriminatory treatment of PTI, claiming the ECP accepted the intra-party elections of other parties while rejecting PTI’s despite greater transparency.
According to him, PTI’s strength in the National Assembly has fallen from 180 seats after the February 8 polls to just 76, which he described as political victimisation.
The case will be heard again on August 15.
On July 31, an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad handed prison sentences of up to 10 years to more than 100 PTI leaders and workers in connection with the May 9 riots. Those convicted include Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul, and Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza.
In a separate ruling, Ismael Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the court ordering the forfeiture of his entire property.
