PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan exempted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Sohail Afridi from appearing in today’s hearing as the Advocate General excused that the Chief Minister is busy in an important meeting.
A 4-member bench headed by the Chief Election Commissioner was conducting the hearing. Sohail Afridi’s lawyer, Ali Bukhari, appeared before the Election Commission and presented the Chief Minister’s plea to exempt him from the hearing for today. “We have summoned the CM in his personal capacity”, the Chief Election Commissioner remarked. Ali Bukhari raised objections to the remarks of a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Election Commission. The Chief Election Commission should tell its members how to make remarks, Ali Bukhari told the commission.
The election commissioner said that Omar Ayub’s wife is a candidate from NA-18 Haripur. The Secretary Election Commission said that under the code of conduct, no public office holder can participate in the election campaign. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa threatened the election staff. The Secretary Election Commission, the candidate from the constituency, Shahrnaz Omar Ayub, is also equally guilty. Secretary Election Commission KP CM Sohail Afridi does not appear despite the ECP summons
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and NA-18 Haripur candidate Shahrnaz Umar did not appear today despite being summoned by the Election Commission of Pakistan. The Election Commission had summoned Sohail Afridi and Shahrnaz today in the case of threatening speech. Shahrnaz’s lawyer, Hassan Qadir, appeared before the Election Commission, while PML-N candidate from Haripur, Babar Nawaz Khan, was also present there and filed a petition against the opposing candidate.
Babar Nawaz Khan said that he is contesting from NA-18 and is the complainant in this case. The case was heard by a four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. The Election Commission of Pakistan had on Thursday taken notice of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s irresponsible statement regarding the NE-18 Haripur by-election.
Addressing a rally in Havelian Tehsil of Abbottabad city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had issued a stern warning to those who tried to alter or rig the results of the by-election. A press release issued by the Election Commission said that it has received notice of the remarks of the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which he threatened the district administration, police, and election staff and provoked the public and common people present at the rally. The spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, while explaining the statement of Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi, said that the statement of the Chief Minister was presented out of context.
He said that the Chief Minister did not threaten anyone, but the message was that strict legal action would be taken against those who interfered in the election. The spokesperson further said that interfering in elections is a crime and the Chief Minister has pointed out this legal fact, adding that appropriate steps will be taken to prevent any illegal action during the elections.
Read also: ECP takes notice of CM Afridi’s controversial remarks against government employees
