The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has taken notice of an alleged violation of its Code of Conduct by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. The development comes just a day before the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election, scheduled for November 8.
According to an ECP press release issued on Saturday, Tarar visited the constituency by helicopter and addressed an election campaign event. The minister reportedly attended the gathering in support of Rashid Basheer Virk, a candidate contesting the National Assembly seat.
The commission considers the reported participation a possible violation of election regulations. Its Code of Conduct prohibits public office holders, including federal ministers, from taking part in election campaign activities.
ECP Seeks Report and Directs Minister to Appear
Following the incident, the ECP has requested reports from the district monitoring officer and district returning officer. The officials will investigate the circumstances surrounding the minister’s reported visit and participation in the campaign event.
Furthermore, the commission has directed Attaullah Tarar to appear before it personally to explain his position.
The ECP has also warned that it could withhold the NA-77 by-election result until it reaches a final decision on the matter. This development places additional scrutiny on the constituency’s electoral process ahead of Sunday’s polling.
NA-77 By-Election Scheduled for November 8
The by-elections in NA-77 Gujranwala-I and Punjab Assembly constituency PP-203 Sahiwal-VI will take place on November 8. Both seats became vacant following the deaths of their respective Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers.
NA-77 fell vacant after the death of five-time MNA Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir Virk on September 11. He passed away following a prolonged illness.
His son, Rashid Basheer Virk, is now contesting the seat among 18 candidates who have submitted nomination papers.
Mehmood Bashir Virk had represented the constituency in the National Assembly five times as a PML-N candidate. He first secured the seat in 1997 but lost the 2002 election. However, he returned to electoral success in 2008 and subsequently won four consecutive contests.
He was also considered a close political loyalist of PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Previous Electoral Controversy in the Constituency
The upcoming NA-77 contest follows an earlier by-election held in November 2025. That election took place after the constituency’s original winner, PTI-backed independent candidate Rai Murtaza Iqbal, was disqualified following his conviction by an Anti-Terrorism Court.
The electoral history of PP-203 also involves a previous disqualification and a subsequent by-election.
During the 2024 general elections, independent candidate Rai Murtaza Iqbal, backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), initially won PP-203. He secured 55,874 votes, defeating PML-N candidate Chaudhry Hanif Jutt, who received 35,163 votes.
However, the ECP later disqualified and denotified Iqbal and four other PTI-backed parliamentarians. The decision followed their conviction by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad on July 31.
Consequently, the commission scheduled another by-election for November 23, 2025. PML-N candidate Hanif Jutt won that contest with 46,820 votes, while his closest rival, independent candidate Falik Sher, received 10,975 votes.
However, Jutt’s death from cardiac arrest on September 17, 2026, created another vacancy in PP-203, requiring a fresh by-election.
The latest ECP action against Attaullah Tarar has therefore added another significant development to the electoral proceedings. With polling scheduled for November 8, the commission’s investigation could also affect the announcement of the NA-77 result.
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