Khurram Zeeshan of PTI wins Senate by-polls for Shibli Faraz’s vacated seat

Khurram Zeeshan of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, emerges as the victor, on Thursday for the Senate seat vacated after the disqualification of Shibli Faraz.

Three candidates are contesting: Khurram Zeeshan and Irfan Saleem of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), and opposition candidate Taj Muhammad Afridi.

Chief Minister Sohail Afridi became stuck in traffic on his way to the assembly and continued on foot, greeting and shaking hands with commuters along the way.

After casting his vote, Afridi told reporters he was heading to Adiala Jail to meet PTI founder Imran Khan. He expressed confidence in PTI’s position in the provincial assembly, saying: “None of our MPAs have defected, from the speaker’s election to my own selection.”

He criticised the federal government for excluding Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from discussions that directly affect the province. “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a stakeholder in Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, yet we were not taken into confidence,” he said. “Our stance is that decisions about the province should not be made behind closed doors.”

Former Chief Minister of K-P Ali Amin Gandapur also reached and casted his vote.

Voting began at 9am and will conclude at 4pm. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gul is serving as Returning Officer, while Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Deputy Director Media Coordination Sohail Ahmed, Deputy Director Elections Fahad Ali Shah, and Deputy Director Law Muhammad Amjad are acting as polling officers.

Read: Top court refuses to delay Senate by-poll for Shibli Faraz’s seat

Senate seat re-election

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected a plea from Faraz to suspend the election, ruling that it would not interfere in the electoral process.

Earlier, a special anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad had sentenced PTI leaders Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub to ten years in prison each over their alleged involvement in the May 9, 2023, riots that followed the arrest of Imran Khan.

The Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified nine PTI lawmakers, including Senate Opposition Leader Faraz and National Assembly Opposition Leader Ayub, after their conviction. Both initially challenged their disqualifications in the Peshawar High Court, but their petitions were dismissed as “non-maintainable” since they had not surrendered before the court. They later appealed to the Supreme Court.