ECP reschedules two cases against PkMAP till next month

ISLAMABAD: The electoral body has rescheduled till next month two cases against Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), which is headed by Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai, involving the non-conduct of intra-party elections and the party’s constitution. A notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday stated that the aforementioned cases that were fixed for hearing before the ECP on 24 September were de-listed due to the unavailability of the bench. These cases have been fixed for hearing on October 6, the notice revealed. Conspicuously, the development bears significance given that Achakzai, the PkMAP’s chief, also heads the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of several opposition parties, which supports the long march announced by Pakistan Tehreek—e—Insaf (PTI) beginning on September 27—whereas the cases against PKMAP were scheduled to be heard by the ECP only three days prior to the long march— before been rescheduled to the next month. In total, three cases against PkMAP are pending with the ECP; the non-conduct of intra-party elections, the party’s constitution, and its financial accounts. Earlier this month, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja warned that the electoral body would issue a “unilateral” decision in two of the three cases related to PkMAP if the defence side failed to submit the related replies. He made these remarks on September 1 while heading a five-member full ECP bench that heard all the three cases. During the hearing, the defence counsel informed the bench that similar cases related to PKMAP were pending in the Balochistan High Court (BHC), and the court had issued a stay order in the case regarding non-conduct of PkMAP intra-party elections. The ECP officials concerned from the Law Wing confirmed to the bench that the BHC issued a stay order in the PKMAP intra-party polls case, but, they contended, the remaining two cases related to the amended constitution and the accounts of PkMAP were pending in the said court without any stay order having been issued. The CEC directed the defence lawyer to submit replies to the ECP’s objections in the two cases in which stay orders were not issued by the BHC. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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