ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday extended a petition filed by Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri challenging an election tribunal’s verdict that declared his election from National Assembly seat NA-265 (Quetta-II) null and void and ordered re-election.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, extended its stay order, suspended the tribunal’s verdict until 11th February. The other two members of the bench were Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Yahya Afridi.
The hearing adjourned until 11th February. Qasim Suri was disqualified on 27th September 2019 but he approached the apex court to issue a stay order on the implementation of the verdict.
The bench heared another petition by Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Akbar Askani against the tribunal’s 31st December verdict that declared his election as void. Akbar Askani had returned elected from PB -48 Kech-IV constituency.
Qasim Suri’s lawyer Naeem Bukhari had said in the plea that irregularities in the electoral process could not be attributed to his client. He pleaded with the bench to declare the decision of the election tribunal as void.
An election tribunal presided over by Justice Abdullah Baloch had ordered re-election in the Quetta constituency on 27th September last year.
Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) Lashkari Raisani had challenged the victory of Qasim Suri, who contested the 2018 general election on a ticket of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
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