The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday reserved its verdict in a case against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for alleged violation of the code of conduct and threats to the election staff during by-elections last year.
A five-member bench of the commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja reserved its ruling after hearing final arguments from both sides. Afridi’s lawyer Ali Bukhari and petitioner Babar Nawaz’s lawyer Sajil Swati appeared before the bench. The chief minister is accused of threatening election staff during a political gathering in Havelian, Abbottabad, ahead of a by-election in Haripur (NA-18).
During proceedings, the ECP lawyer argued that the district administration and officers for the by-election were subordinate to the ECP, and that threatening the election staff meant threatening the Election Commission. He said the judiciary also declared that the protection of the election staff was the responsibility of the commission, underlining that action may be taken against the chief minister in line with related laws.
In response, the chief minister’s lawyer said the commission had never taken any decision in favor of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and sought action on his separate, and unrelated, application against the Punjab chief minister. To this, member of the ECP from Sindh said this case was not only about violation of the code of conduct but also intimidation. “Where did you challenge the commission’s order rejecting your application?” questioned the CEC.
The lawyer admitted he had not challenged it and claimed he was merely giving an example. To this, this Sindh member noted that the Punjab chief minister never told election staff they “will not be able to see the morning or night.” The CEC further said that if the lawyer had issues with the rejection of his application, he should approach the Supreme Court.
Afridi’s lawyer then reiterated that his client was merely engaging in “political talk.” To this, the CEC said that regardless of the context, the accused was still speaking as a chief minister. “Are you saying that this was not a threat but a curse?” questioned the ECP members from KP.