ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) election tribunal that nullified his election.
The petition, filed by advocate Naeem Bukhari, argued that Suri could not be blamed for irregularities in the election. The appeal further maintained that the tribunal “did not consider the facts of the matter” and urged the Supreme Court to declare its “verdict as void”.
On Sept 27, the tribunal had declared Suri’s election to the National Assembly as void and ordered re-election in the NA-265 (Quetta II) constituency.
The NA-265 result had been challenged by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, who had filed a petition against alleged rigging in the constituency.
The tribunal did not announce a date for the re-election. However, Suri, who was de-seated following the tribunal’s verdict, remains eligible to contest the re-election.
According to the results announced by the ECP, Suri had received 25,979 votes, while Raisani had received 20,394 votes. According to the final tally, 3,422 votes in total had been rejected in the constituency.