PESHAWAR (Kashmir English): The Peshawar High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi challenging a notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in connection with the NA-18 Haripur by-election.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Fahim Wali announced the reserved verdict after hearing arguments from the chief minister’s counsel and the ECP representative.
During the hearing, the ECP maintained that the petition was not maintainable and premature, arguing that no final action had been taken against the chief minister and that the inquiry was still at the preliminary stage.
The chief minister’s counsel argued that the speech in question was delivered outside the boundaries of NA-18 and alleged that both the District Monitoring Officer (DMO) and ECP had initiated proceedings over the matter.
The counsel further contended that the ECP had issued a notice under Section 15 and that the DMO had separately issued a notice under Section 234 of the relevant law.
Justice Arshad Ali observed that the matter was currently an inquiry by the ECP rather than formal legal proceedings and noted that there was no legal bar preventing the Commission from conducting an inquiry.
The court also advised the petitioner to present his response before the ECP, observing that the Commission would subsequently proceed according to law.
The ECP representative argued that the notice fell within the Commission’s jurisdiction and requested dismissal of the petition on the grounds that it was premature.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Peshawar High Court dismissed Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s petition, allowing the ECP’s inquiry to proceed.
