ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has convened a meeting to deliberate on the Supreme Court’s (SC) recent verdict on reserved seats.
A 13-member bench of the SC, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats, a decision that delivered a significant blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict, overturning the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision that had supported the ECP’s denial of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, along with Justices Jamal Mandokhail, Naeem Afghan, Yahya Afridi, and Ameenuddin Khan, opposed the majority decision.
The ECP meeting, scheduled for July 18, aims to explore options for implementing the SC’s verdict regarding SIC reserved seats. The Secretary of the ECP and officials from the legal wing will brief the commission.
In response, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has filed a review petition against the SC’s decision. The PML-N’s petition, filed in the apex court, urges the court to withdraw its July 12 order.
The PML-N argues that the PTI was not even a party in the case, as it was the SIC that approached the Supreme Court. The petition claims that awarding reserved seats to PTI based on the SIC’s plea violates the law.
The PML-N’s petition lists the SIC and the ECP as respondents, challenging the SC’s order and seeking a reversal of the verdict that granted reserved seats to PTI.
