ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Saifullah Abro on Friday received legal relief after the Senate President rejected a disqualification petition filed against him as not maintainable on technical grounds, despite allegations that he violated party discipline by voting in favor of the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
According to parliamentary sources, the reference was rejected because it was signed by the PTI parliamentary leader and not the party chief, which is a procedural requirement under the defection clause of the Constitution.
As a result, the reference was found defective and rejected without being forwarded to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Under the defection provisions of Section 63-A, a disqualification reference must bear the signature of the party leader.
According to sources, failure to comply with this mandatory requirement made the reference technically wrong, leading the Senate President to drop the matter.
Earlier this month, the PTI had filed a petition seeking disqualification of Abro for allegedly defying the party line by voting in favor of the 27th constitutional amendment.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar had publicly confirmed this decision by writing on
The appeal, submitted by Zafar, invoked Article 63-A of the Constitution, which deals with disqualification on the ground of defection.
“The declaration is submitted for further reference to the Chief Election Commissioner for filing before the Election Commission in accordance with the said Section 63-A,” the reference dated January 1 said.
He said a PTI meeting was held before the vote on the amendment, during which it was “explicitly decided and communicated in writing to all PTI senators” that they should oppose and not vote in favor of any bill relating to the amendment.
The instruction was also officially issued by Ali Zafar to all PTI senators, including Abro. “The file confirms that this instruction was correctly transmitted to him and that he was fully aware of it,” the reference adds.
The reference added that the instructions were also widely published in the media.
However, despite these instructions, Abro voted in favor of the amendment twice, first on November 10, 2025, when the Senate initially passed the bill, and again on November 13, 2025, when the House reconsidered it after the amendments.
The reference said that in both cases, Abro voted contrary to the “clear, unanimous and duly communicated direction” of the PTI and its parliamentary leadership.
