Punjab’s Minister for Information, Azma Bokhari, criticized the Supreme Court’s decision on the reserved seats case, describing it as introducing a “super” doctrine of necessity.
In a heated press conference in Lahore, Bokhari claimed the Supreme Court’s ruling provided Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with relief that it had not requested.
“Nations have always suffered due to the doctrine of necessity,” Bokhari remarked, suggesting that Pakistan has been harmed by favoritism towards certain individuals.
“The PTI didn’t even ask for the reserved seats in their plea, but they’ve been granted them without asking. Why is there so much favoritism towards this party? The favorite is given relief even when not requested,” she asserted.
The Supreme Court’s decision, announced on Friday, was a significant legal victory for the PTI, declaring the party eligible for reserved seats. This ruling facilitates the PTI’s return to parliament after being excluded from the February 8 polls due to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) December 2023 decision.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, representing the Supreme Court’s full bench, delivered the 8-5 majority verdict, overturning the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision that upheld the ECP’s denial of reserved seats to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The verdict, supported by Justices Shah, Munib Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A Malik, Athar Minallah, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, and Irfan Saadat Khan, stated that the lack of an election symbol does not affect a political party’s Constitutional or legal right to participate in elections and field candidates. The ruling emphasized that the commission must adhere to all statutory provisions.
Bokhari argued that the ruling paves the way for floor-crossing and questioned why relief was granted to a non-party in the case without hearing any affected parties.
“The constitution does not grant unlimited power to anyone,” she stated, adding that both the judiciary and medical professionals have no room for error.
