ISLAMABAD: In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has set aside the orders of the Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that had previously stripped the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) of its reserved seats. The full-court bench ruled by a majority of 8-5 in favor of recognizing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as a political party eligible for reserved seats.
The decision was announced by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, with PTI being given 15 days to submit the necessary documents to secure their reserved seats. This ruling followed extensive proceedings that concluded on July 9.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa led the bench, which included Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din 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.
Originally scheduled to be announced by a three-member bench at 9:30 am, the final decision was released at noon following two separate full-court meetings to deliberate on the matter.
The background of the case stems from the February general elections, where PTI members were compelled to run as independent candidates after the Supreme Court ruled the party’s internal elections flawed. Consequently, PTI candidates could not use the party’s cricket bat symbol during their campaigns. Despite this setback, PTI-backed candidates won the most seats in the National Assembly and subsequently joined the SIC to secure reserved seats.
The ECP initially decided against allocating the reserved seats to PTI on technical grounds, redistributing SIC’s share among other parties. This decision was contested, leading to the Supreme Court’s involvement.
The ruling is expected to have significant political implications, potentially altering the composition of the National Assembly. PTI is hopeful of securing 78 reserved seats initially allocated to rival parties in the elections.
In response, the ECP maintained that its decisions, along with those of the PHC, were constitutionally and legally sound, emphasizing that non-Muslims could not be members of SIC under its constitution.
This decision by the Supreme Court marks a pivotal moment in Pakistan’s political landscape, affirming PTI’s status as a key player in the national assembly with the allocation of reserved seats.
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