July 23: Dawn report by Amir Yasin states that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday deferred election to a National Assembly seat from Rawalpindi after disqualification of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Hanif Abbasi due to his conviction by the Control of Narcotics Substances Court in the ephedrine case. The ECP’s decision came in the wake of criticism in political and social circles over the timing of the court’s verdict in the six-year-old case. The judgement had virtually provided a walkover to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who had regularly predicted in his speeches that Abbasi would be disqualified.
Dawn: Election put off in Hanif Abbasi’s constituency
