• NA Secretariat sticks to its stance that disqualification is ‘sub judice’ before Peshawar High Court
• Omar Ayub’s seat among 13 up for grabs on November 23

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat maintains that the disqualification of Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub is a sub-judice matter, even as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced by-elections in 13 constituencies, including Mr Ayub’s, on Nov 23.

The NA stance came in response to PTI leader Amir Dogar’s request, drawing the NA speaker’s attention to rules 39 and 9-B of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the NA, 2007, which outline the procedure for the submission of names and the declaration of the opposition leader.

As stipulated under Rule 39(2), the speaker announces the date, time, and place for members of the National Assembly to submit their duly signed proposals for the appointment of opposition leader.

According to a response released by the NA Secretariat on Wednesday, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has already made it clear that in line with parliamentary practice, such announcements were made on the floor of the house, allowing all members an equal opportunity to propose a candidate for the position.

He stated as he had not yet made any announcement regarding the schedule for submitting proposals for the opposition leader, no request or proposal could be entertained at this stage.

“The secretariat will proceed only once the requisite announcement is made by the speaker in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business 2007,” the speaker said.

Also, the NA secretariat referenced the Oct 29 order of the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench on the pleas (Omer Ayub Khan and others vs. FOP & Syed Shibli Faraz vs. FOP). Through this order, the SC set aside the earlier decision of the Peshawar High Court that had adjourned writ petitions sine die, and directed the high court to determine the maintainability of those petitions and dispose of them accordingly.

The NA spokesperson confirmed that as highlighted in the response letter, the matter concerning the disqualification of Mr Ayub, former opposition leader, was presently sub judice before the Peshawar High Court.

On the other hand, the ECP has drawn the attention of contesting candidates for by-elections in 13 constituencies of the National and the Punjab assemblies, announcing that no person shall convene, hold or attend any public meeting and no person shall promote or join in any procession within the area of the constituency during a period of 48 hours ending at midnight following the conclusion of the poll.

“Any person who contravenes these provisions of law shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with a fine which may extend to Rs100,000 or with both,” the ECP announcement said.

The constituencies are: NA-18 Haripur, PP-73 Sargodha-III, NA-96 Faisalabad-II, PP-87 Mianwali-III, NA-104 Faisalabad-X, PP-98 Faisalabad, NA-129 Lahore-XIII, PP-115 Faisalabad-XVIII, NA-143 Sahiwal-III 5, PP-116 Faisalabad-XIX, NA-185 D.G. Khan-ll, PP-203 Sahiwal-VI, PP-269 Muzaffargarh-ll.

Accordingly, the election campaign for by-elections in the above constituencies shall come to an end at midnight between Nov 21 and 22. The political parties and the candidates were requested to follow the provisions of law and exercise self-restraint so that the poll is held in an orderly and peaceful manner on Nov 23.

When contacted, political analyst Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, who is also president of Pildat, said if the matter of appointment of the leader of the opposition was sub judice as claimed by the NA speaker, then there was no harm in holding a by-election of any constituency including the one from which former leader of the opposition Omar Ayub had won.

However, he added, if the sub-judice matter was Mr Ayub’s election rather than his appointment as leader of the opposition, then the ECP should not have announced the schedule for the by-election in his constituency.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2025