ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday de-notified former National Assembly deputy speaker Qasim Suri as a member of the Lower House.
The decision came after the election tribunal of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) last week declared Suri’s election to the National Assembly as void and ordered a re-election in the constituency.
Suri was elected as an MNA from NA-265 (Quetta-II) on a ticket of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the General Elections 2018. The result was challenged by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, who had filed a petition against alleged rigging in the constituency.
Suri, who was de-seated following the tribunal’s verdict, remains eligible to contest the re-election for which the election commission is yet to announce a date.
On Tuesday, Suri filed a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict by the election tribunal.
The petition, filed by Naeem Bukhari on behalf of Suri, argued that he 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 apex court to declare its verdict as void.
