ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a detailed verdict in the electoral case of National Assembly constituency NA-251, upholding the victory of Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party candidate Khushal Khan Kakar.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprising Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, issued the judgment in election petition titled Khushal Khan Kakar verses Election Commission of Pakistan.
The court on February 27, 2026 heard the appeal of Khushal Khan Kakar against the judgment passed by the Election Tribunal, Quetta, Balochistan, on November 24, 2025
A 10-page judgment authored by Justice Shakeel Ahmed criticised the Returning Officer, remarking that deliberate manipulation of election results is equivalent to depriving the public of its mandate.
The court declared the notification dated February 18, 2024, regarding the success of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam candidate Maulana Syed Samiullah as illegal and annulled it. While upholding Khushal Khan Kakar’s victory, the court directed the Election Commission to immediately issue a notification declaring him as a Member of the National Assembly.
The court also set aside the decision of the Election Tribunal Balochistan to hold re-polling at 22 polling stations. It severely criticised the role of the Returning Officer, noting in its judgment that the officer deliberately altered the original results recorded in Form 45 while preparing Form 48.
The court held that if the results in Form 45 had not been tampered with, Khushal Khan Kakar would have won with a clear margin of 1,863 votes. It also ruled that the Returning Officer had no legal authority to alter the results in Form 45.
The court declared that manipulation of election results by election staff is a criminal act punishable under election laws. It emphasised that the Election Commission is constitutionally bound to conduct transparent elections, and any alteration in votes amounts to an attack on the will of the people.
