SC restores PML-N MNA Bazai’s membership

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to suspend Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Adil Bazai’s membership for allegedly defying the party’s directives in the National Assembly.

The verdict was issued by a three-member bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, which included Justice Aqeel Abbasi and Justice Ayesha A Malik. The court postponed further proceedings until December 12.

The election commission had disqualified Bazai, a lawmaker from Quetta, on November 21 following a request by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. Bazai then approached the Supreme Court to challenge the disqualification.

Previously, the commission had acted after PML-N President Nawaz Sharif accused Bazai of defying party policy by siding with the opposition during the 26th Constitutional Amendment’s passage.

Bazai was de-seated by the ECP under Article 63-A, according to Taimoor Aslam, counsel for the petitioner. He argued that the election commission neither conducted a proper review of the facts nor summoned Bazai for an inquiry.

Aslam contended that the issue of Bazai’s affidavits was already under consideration in a civil court, raising questions about the ECP’s jurisdiction in the matter. Justice Shah questioned whether the ECP had the authority to take notice of an issue pending before a civil court. He highlighted that Bazai had two affidavits and claimed he had only signed one of them.

Justice Ayesha also questioned whether the ECP could initiate an inquiry into allegations of fraud, suggesting that the scope of the ECP’s authority needed clarification before proceeding further.

Justice Shah emphasised the gravity of de-seating an elected representative, noting it was not a trivial matter and required a thorough examination of all aspects. Bazai had challenged the ECP’s decision to de-seat him as the National Assembly member from NA-262 Quetta.