PESHAWAR: PTI-backed candidate Khurram Zeeshan has won the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senate by-election with 91 votes, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results announced on Thursday.

His closest rival, Taj Afridi, backed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), secured 45 votes. One vote was declared invalid during the counting process.

The by-election was held at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to fill the seat vacated after the disqualification of PTI leader Shibli Faraz, who had also been serving as the opposition leader in the Senate.

A total of five candidates contested the election, which remained peaceful throughout the polling process.

After his victory, Senator-elect Khurram Zeeshan told reporters that he would now continue his political struggle in Parliament. “Our first target is Imran Khan’s release. There can be no stability in Pakistan until Imran Khan is freed,” he said.

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Newly-elected KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi also cast his vote in the by-election. In a post on X, he said that Imran Khan’s candidate would secure a decisive win — a prediction that proved accurate.

The seat fell vacant in August after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-notified nine PTI lawmakers, including Shibli Faraz, following their convictions in the May 9 cases.