ECP de-notifies Senator Murad Saeed after May 9 GHQ case conviction
The Election Commission of Pakistan has disqualified Senator Murad Saeed from his Senate seat after his conviction in the May 9 GHQ attack case. This decision follows a court ruling that sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has officially disqualified PTI’s Murad Saeed from his Senate seat following his conviction in the May 9 General Headquarters (GHQ) attack case, it emerged on Thursday.
According to the ECP’s notification, Saeed was sentenced by a Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on March 7 and was among 47 individuals convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in connection with the May 9 GHQ attack.
The ECP’s notification, dated March 25 and available with Dawn, cited the court’s order, stating: “Murad Saeed, notified as returned candidate on a general seat of Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has become disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and is hereby de-notified. Resultantly, his seat has become vacant.”
Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution stipulates that a person is disqualified from holding public office if convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude or sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more. Saeed had been elected as a senator in July 2025.
The May 9 unrest was triggered by the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan on May 9, 2023, which sparked violent riots across the country, including attacks on government buildings and military installations such as the army’s GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Authorities subsequently launched a crackdown on PTI leaders and supporters, registering dozens of terrorism cases. Other prominent convicts in the GHQ attack case alongside Saeed include Shahbaz Gill, Omar Ayub, Zartiaj Gul, Zulfi Bukhari, and former MNAs Kanwal Shauzab, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Ahmed Chattha, and Sheikh Rashid Shafique.
Several of the convicts, including Ayub, Faraz, Gul, Nawaz, and Chattha, had already been convicted in other May 9-related cases, resulting in prior disqualifications from public office. Other individuals sentenced in this case include Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, Shoukat Ali Bhatti, Usman Saeed Basra, Ijaz Khan Jazi, Malik Abid Hussain, Zahid Abbas Choudhary, Faisal Mukhtar, and Muzamil Masood Bhatti.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to join the discussion!
