Peshawar High Court Rejects CM Sohail Afridi’s Petition Against ECP Notice

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has rejected a petition filed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi challenging a notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

A two-member bench comprising Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Muhammad Fahim Wali announced the reserved judgment and dismissed the chief minister’s petition.

Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had challenged the ECP notice before the Peshawar High Court. During the hearing, counsels for the chief minister and the Election Commission presented their respective arguments before the court.

The ECP representative informed the court that no final action had so far been taken against the chief minister and that the matter was still at the preliminary inquiry stage. Therefore, the petition was premature, the commission argued. The ECP maintained that issuing the notice in the matter fell within its legal jurisdiction.

The chief minister’s counsel argued that Sohail Afridi had been served a notice over a statement regarding the electoral process and election officials made on November 25, 2025. According to the counsel, the District Monitoring Officer had initiated proceedings under Section 234 of the Elections Act, while the Election Commission had proceeded under Section 15.

The counsel objected that proceedings had been initiated by both the District Monitoring Officer and the Election Commission in the same matter, while the powers of the inquiry officer and the procedure for the inquiry had also not been clearly defined. The counsel expressed apprehension that the proceedings could ultimately lead to the chief minister’s disqualification.

During the hearing, Justice Arshad Ali observed that the Election Commission could hear the petitioner and that the chief minister could submit his response. The court observed that the ECP proceedings were currently at the inquiry stage and there was no legal bar preventing the commission from conducting the inquiry.

The ECP’s counsel told the court that the commission’s objective was to prevent illegal practices in the electoral process and ensure transparent elections, adding that no final decision had so far been taken against the chief minister.

After completion of the arguments, the Peshawar High Court dismissed Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s petition challenging the ECP notice, allowing the commission’s inquiry to proceed to the next stage of the legal process.