PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday suspended the decision of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council to conduct bar elections on newly prepared voter lists, directing that the polls scheduled for May 6 be held under the previous system.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed heard the petition filed through advocates Yasir Khattak and Shumail Ahmad Butt.During the hearing, the petitioners argued that the bar council had issued a notification in December 2025 declaring lawyers ineligible to vote if they had not cleared their dues by a specified date.
They contended that traditionally, elections were conducted on voter lists finalised in the previous year, and the new criteria would disenfranchise hundreds of lawyers. After hearing initial arguments, the bench suspended the implementation of elections based on the new voter lists and ordered that the elections be conducted using the previously finalised voter lists. The court also issued notices to the respondents, seeking their replies.
