Anjum Aqeel retains NA-46 seat

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the petition filed by Aamir Mughal, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed candidate, who had challenged the election results of NA-46 Islamabad, and restored the election victory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Anjum Aqeel.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended victory notifications of winning candidates from Islamabad’s constituencies NA-46, 47 and 48.

The court had referred the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan with a direction to address all pending challenges before notifying winning candidates. 

A two-member ECP bench comprising the Chief Election Commissioner and the member Balochistan announced its reserved judgment on Thursday, dismissing the application and restoring the notification of Anjum Aqeel Khan as the returned candidate.

Mughal had alleged irregularities in the Form-47, which contains the consolidated statement of results of the count, and sought a recount of votes.

Anjum Aqeel Khan is a former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013.

He started his career as a school teacher, then became a real estate agent and developer. He has been involved in several controversies, including a six-billion-rupee land fraud case and illegal occupation of a plot in Islamabad.

He was acquitted in the National Police Foundation corruption case in 2019. He won the NA-46 seat in the 2024 general election by securing 81,958 votes.