ISLAMABAD: As the Supreme Court resumed hearing the case regarding the allocation of reserved seats, the full court emphasized that such allotments must adhere to the principle of proportional representation. The hearing has been adjourned until 11:30 am on June 27.
The full bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, presided over the case. The proceedings were broadcast live on the Supreme Court’s website and YouTube channel.
During the hearing, CJP Isa remarked on the importance of intra-party elections, suggesting that the previous decision of the Supreme Court on not holding these elections could have significant implications. He underscored that the court’s role was not to interfere with who gets elected within political parties.
The former prime minister had requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to extend the deadline for holding intra-party elections by one year. CJP Isa mentioned that this request might have led to tensions with the commission, and he expressed confusion over political parties’ reluctance to hold intra-party elections, which he described as fundamental to democracy.
Earlier in the proceedings, the CJP directed the advocate general for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to first listen to the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) before speaking.
Background
Members of Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were forced to run as independent candidates in the February general elections following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the party’s internal elections were flawed. Consequently, PTI candidates were not permitted to use the party’s cricket bat symbol during the campaign. Despite this setback, PTI-backed candidates secured the most seats in the National Assembly and joined the religious political party, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), to secure reserved seats.
Reserved seats are allocated to political parties based on the proportion of general seats won in the elections, promoting political representation of traditionally underrepresented groups. However, the ECP decided not to allocate these reserved seats to PTI-backed candidates on “technical grounds” and distributed SIC’s share among other parties. This decision has significant political implications, potentially impacting the National Assembly’s composition.
On Monday, Justice Minallah observed that the ECP had confused matters by declaring PTI no longer a political party due to the loss of its symbol, yet recognizing it as an enlisted political party. CJP Isa questioned why the independent candidates did not join PTI if the party continued to exist.
The case continues to be a focal point of political debate, with PTI hopeful of reclaiming 78 reserved seats in Parliament currently held by rival parties.
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