ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday officially disqualified three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers after their convictions in various criminal cases, according to documents obtained by Dawn.com.
The disqualified individuals include Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, MNA Mohammad Ahmed Chattha (NA-66 Wazirabad), and Punjab MPA Ahmad Khan (PP-87 Mianwali-III). Their disqualifications were issued under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, which states that any individual convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to at least two years in prison is ineligible to hold public office.
The move follows a recent decision by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, which acquitted PTI senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi but handed down 10-year jail terms to Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, and others in a case related to the May 9 riots and violence near Sherpao Bridge.
According to the ECP’s first notification, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry was disqualified in the case titled The State vs Dr Yasmin Rashid, etc. As a result, his Senate membership — notified via a March 10, 2021 document — was revoked with immediate effect.
The second notification cited the case The State vs Zafarullah Khan and others, noting that both Mohammad Ahmed Chattha and Ahmad Khan were sentenced to 10 years on July 22. Consequently, their National Assembly and Punjab Assembly seats were declared vacant, and previous notifications confirming their electoral victories in February 2024 were withdrawn.
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This latest development comes just weeks after Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan filed a reference with the ECP against 26 PTI lawmakers over alleged unparliamentary behavior during a disruptive session on June 27, when opposition members protested and caused chaos during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech. However, following successful negotiations between the government and opposition, the speaker withdrew the petitions.
Notably, this is not the first major disqualification for PTI. In 2023, the party’s founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan was also disqualified for five years following his conviction in the Toshakhana case. The ECP cited a court ruling and disqualified him under Article 63(1)(h) in conjunction with Section 232 of the Elections Act, 2017.