Bureau Report
QUETTA: The election tribunal of Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Friday declared the election of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri as null and void and ordered a reelection in the NA-265 (Quetta II) constituency.
While the tribunal did not announce a re-election date, Suri, who has been de-seated following the verdict, remains eligible to contest the re-election. Suri’s election had been challenged by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani – a leader of Balochistan National Party (BNP) – who had filed a petition against alleged rigging in the 2018 general election in NA-265.
The tribunal, headed by Justice Abdullah Baloch, had reserved its verdict in the petition earlier this month.
Raisani, the brother of slain BNP leader Siraj Raisani and former Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani, was one of the candidates who contested from the constituency but had lost it to Suri, who went on to become Lower House’s deputy speaker.
