PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday ordered the suspension of the by-election in National Assembly constituency NA-1 Chitral.
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Syed Arshad Ali and joined by Justice Waqar Ahmad, heard a petition challenging the disqualification of Abdul Latif Chitrali, the former Member of the National Assembly. The petition called into question the legitimacy of the upcoming by-poll.
During the proceedings, Khurram Shehzad, Additional DG Law of the Election Commission of Pakistan, requested the court to defer arguments to a later date, saying the Commission would present its stance next week.
Following the request, the bench issued a formal notice to the Election Commission and directed that the by-election be suspended until further orders. No new date for the polls was announced, pending resolution of the legal challenge.
The suspension halts election preparations in NA-1 Chitral, where voters were set to elect a new representative following the disqualification of Abdul Latif Chitrali. Election officials will remain on standby until the PHC completes its review.
