PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) made a significant ruling on Thursday, dismissing petitions filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) regarding reserved seats in assemblies.
A five-member bench of the high court reached a unanimous decision on the petition, with Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim delivering the reserved verdict. This decision came after the high court had previously reserved its judgment following the conclusion of arguments by the lawyers involved in the case.
During the hearing, Barrister Ali Zafar addressed the court and apologized for his absence during the previous session. He clarified that the election symbol ‘bat’ of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was taken before the elections, necessitating candidates to contest independently.
In response to questions about the number of seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies, the SIC lawyer stated that the party holds 86 seats in the NA, 90 in KP, 107 in Punjab, nine in Sindh, and one in the Balochistan Assembly. He emphasized that SIC, with a total of 226 seats across assemblies, is entitled to 78 reserved seats.
The Election Commission of Pakistan had previously accepted applications from opposing parties, deciding that vacant seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies would be allocated through a proportional representation process based on seats won by political parties.
This decision resulted in the PTI-backed SIC losing a significant number of reserved seats. Despite securing a stay order from the PHC, which prevented the oath-taking of lawmakers denied to the party, four MNAs elected on reserved seats had already taken oath in the lower house.
Addressing the issue, PHC Chief Justice Ibrahim Khan clarified that the oath-taking of members in the National Assembly did not constitute contempt of court, as the stay order was limited to KP. This clarification provided insights into the legal intricacies surrounding the allocation of reserved seats in Pakistan’s assemblies.
