In Pakistan, tribunal suspends Malik Imam’s membership in Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly
The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Tribunal in Pakistan has suspended Malik Imam’s membership in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly from constituency GBA-16 Diamer-II. The returning officer for the constituency was instructed to verify and count postal ballots by September 16. Imam’s membership is suspended until the final consolidated result is prepared.
As Dawn reports, the decision was made by Election Tribunal Judge Mushtaq Ahmed following a petition by Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Attaullah Khan. Through his lawyer, Islamuddin Khan challenged the results of the general election in the constituency.
Complaint over ballot counting
The petitioner stated that the returning officer issued Form No. 49 without counting postal ballots. Subsequently, the chief election commissioner of Gilgit-Baltistan declared Imam the winner, when he was running as an independent candidate. He later joined the Istehkam-i-Pakistan party.
Khan asked the tribunal to declare the election result and the notification of the elected winner unlawful, as well as to issue a consolidated result after counting the postal ballots.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Final result
The ruling states that the returning officer had no authority to issue a preliminary consolidated result. The tribunal also noted that the chief election commissioner made a serious error by declaring a winner on the basis of such a result.
The tribunal ordered that the sealed packet containing postal ballots be opened in the presence of the parties or their authorized representatives. The procedure will be overseen by Gilgit Senior Civil Judge Fahad bin Naqib, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court assistant registrar Raja Mir, and the tribunal team. Police were instructed to ensure enhanced security measures.
After verifying and counting the ballots, the returning officer must prepare the final consolidated result in Form No. 49 and submit it to the chief election commissioner. Based on this document, the commissioner must issue a new notification on the elected candidate. The tribunal also declared unlawful the final consolidated result dated June 16, 2025, as it did not take postal ballots into account.
