PA membership of MQM-P’s Rashid Khan suspended

HYDERABAD: Rashid Khan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) lost his membership to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh on Monday after an election tribunal expressed indignation over his repeated absence from the hearings on a petition challenging his victory in this year’s polls.

A single bench comprising Justice Amjad Ali Sahito of the Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit court heard the case about alleged rigging during the election for PS-64 Hyderabad. The hearing was held on the petition of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s PS-64 candidate Mukhtiar Ahmed, alias Aajiz Dhamrah. Advocate Hameedullah Dahri presented the arguments on his behalf.

The court expressed its indignation over Khan’s repeated absence from the tribunal’s hearing, and suspended his membership to the PA. Justice Sahito suspended the election commission’s notification declaring Khan’s victory until the next hearing.

Advocate Dahri claimed in court that during the 2024 general elections, Khan had tampered with the ballots cast for PS-64, and that MQM-P workers had attacked the polling stations and harassed the voters in the constituency.

In the last hearing of the tribunal, Khan had been issued with a notice through the PA speaker to appear in court. MQM Hyderabad District Spokesperson Rizwan Gadi issued a media statement saying that Khan’s counsel visited Justice Sahito’s chamber to submit a request to recall the order.