Web Desk: The Peshawar High Court is set to determine the fate of a stay order protecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi from any final punitive action by the Election Commission of Pakistan in a case involving alleged violations of the electoral code of conduct.
The dispute stems from proceedings linked to the NA-18 Haripur by-election held last November. The ECP initiated action against Afridi and PTI candidate Shehryar Umar Ayub over alleged breaches of election rules during the campaign.
Afridi has challenged the ECP proceedings before the Peshawar High Court, with his lawyers questioning the commission’s jurisdiction to take action against him.
The chief minister’s legal team has argued that the speech at the centre of the case was delivered in Havelian, Abbottabad, rather than within the geographical limits of the NA-18 Haripur constituency.
On that basis, the lawyers contend that the ECP lacks the legal authority to proceed against Afridi in connection with the alleged violation.
A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court has previously granted relief to Afridi and continued the stay during subsequent hearings.
The order does not prevent the election commission from examining the allegations. Instead, the ECP can continue its inquiry and conduct hearings while remaining barred from issuing a final adverse order against the chief minister.
As a result, the commission cannot currently conclude the proceedings with a punitive decision such as disqualification or a substantial penalty against Afridi.
The central issue before the high court is whether Afridi’s challenge to the ECP proceedings is legally maintainable and whether the commission has jurisdiction in the matter.
The court’s decision could determine whether the existing protection remains in place or comes to an end.
If the stay is lifted, the ECP would be able to move toward completing its proceedings and potentially issue a final decision. Conversely, if the court maintains the protection, the restriction on final punitive action against Afridi would continue.
The case carries political significance for Afridi as the ECP proceedings could affect his position if the commission ultimately determines that serious electoral rules were breached.
For now, however, the high court’s interim protection prevents the election commission from taking a final adverse step against the chief minister while the legal challenge over its jurisdiction and the maintainability of the case remains before the court.
The ruling is therefore expected to clarify whether the ECP proceedings can proceed to a final determination or whether Afridi will retain judicial protection against any concluding punitive action.
