PESHAWAR: An election tribunal in Peshawar on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by former provincial minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Taimur Saleem Jhagra, who had challenged the election of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Jalal Khan as a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the February 2024 general elections.
The tribunal, presided over by retired Justice Lal Jan Khattak, dismissed the petition on technical grounds, ruling that it contained defects and was therefore not maintainable under the provisions of the Elections Act, 2017. A short order was announced in court, while a detailed judgment is expected to be issued later.
Mr Jhagra had challenged the election results of constituency PK-79 (Peshawar), alleging tampering with election documents by polling and election officers. He had sought the annulment of the results and the declaration of himself as the returned candidate.
According to the petition, after the close of polling, votes were counted and duly signed Form-45s were issued to polling agents. Mr Jhagra claimed that the Form-45s showed he had secured 25,114 votes, while Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl candidate Attaul Haq received 5,188 votes. Jalal Khan, he alleged, had secured only 1,619 votes and stood fifth.
The petitioner further contended that a “bogus and manufactured” Form-47 was issued the following morning, declaring Jalal Khan the winner with 16,031 votes, while Mr Jhagra’s tally was reduced to 11,495. He claimed the Form-47 was never officially provided to him and that he learned of the revised results through the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website.
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Counsel for Jalal Khan, Barrister Yaseen Raza Khan, argued that the election petition was not maintainable due to multiple defects. He told the tribunal that election petitions must strictly comply with Sections 142, 143 and 144 of the Elections Act, 2017, and that even a single missing requirement rendered a petition invalid. He pointed out what he described as serious errors, including incorrect parentage mentioned in the affidavit submitted with the petition.
Accepting the arguments, the tribunal ruled that the petition could not proceed further due to technical shortcomings.
Barrister Yaseen Raza Khan appeared for respondent Jalal Khan and argued that the petition was not maintainable as it had many defects.https://t.co/lrUUJ1T7i7
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) January 7, 2026
Reacting to the decision, Mr Jhagra said in a post on social media platform X that the petition had been declared non-maintainable without proceeding to substantive arguments, despite what he described as alleged tampering in official election forms. He announced his intention to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
It may be recalled that, on Mr Jhagra’s application, the Anti-Corruption Establishment had earlier initiated an inquiry into the alleged irregularities. However, the Peshawar High Court subsequently declared the inquiry unlawful, ruling that the anti-corruption body lacked jurisdiction over election officials acting under the supervision of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
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