ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has fielded Ghulam Badshah, the driver of Bushra Bibi, as one of the covering candidates for the Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vacated after the disqualification of former senator Murad Saeed.
According to sources, the development is linked to the consultations between the opposition leadership and PTI over the upcoming election for the vacant general seat.
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The party has reportedly awarded its ticket to Irfan Saleem as the main candidate, while Badshah has been nominated as a covering candidate. In addition, Sajjad Mohmand has also been named as another covering candidate, sources said.
Sources said Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas had proposed the name of Akhundzada Hussain Yousafzai for the Senate seat. However, PTI’s parliamentary board rejected his nomination and finalised Irfan Saleem as the party’s candidate.
Some party leaders had reportedly expressed reservations over Saleem’s nomination, citing concerns related to the May 9 cases, sources added.
According to insiders, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and leader Salman Akram Raja had agreed to include Yousafzai as a covering candidate, and Gohar had assured that his name would be accommodated in the list.
However, sources claimed that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi intervened and instead ensured the inclusion of Badshah, Bushra Bibi’s driver, as a covering candidate in place of Yousafzai.
Sources further said that Shahid Khattak also opposed the inclusion of Yousafzai in the list in any capacity, while several party leaders raised objections over naming Bushra Bibi’s driver as a covering candidate.
The seat fell vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last month disqualified Saeed following his conviction in a May 9 case linked to the violent protests of 2023.
In its notification, the ECP said Saeed had been sentenced to 10 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, resulting in his disqualification under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution.
Following the decision, his general Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was declared vacant.
Saeed had been elected senator from KP in July 2025, but he could not take oath as he remained in hiding. Later, in mid-February, he submitted his resignation from the Senate seat in a letter addressed to the party chairman.
Meanwhile, the ECP has already issued the election schedule for the vacant seat, with polling set for April 23 at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, The News reported.
According to the schedule, April 10 is the last date for scrutiny of nomination papers, while appeals against acceptance or rejection of nominations can be filed by April 13. The last date for disposal of appeals by the tribunal is April 15, after which the revised list of candidates will be published the following day.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is April 17.
Polling for the seat will be held on April 23 from 9am to 4pm at the Provincial Assembly Building, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
