PTI eliminated from the National Assembly after its 80 MNAs were declared lawmakers of Sunni Ittehad Council: Latest party position

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat on Friday updated the party composition in the lower house, officially removing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from its list of political parties.

This update follows a letter from the Speaker to the Election Commission concerning the Election Amendment Act. According to the new party position, all 80 former PTI members are now listed under the Sunni Ittehad Council. Previously, 39 were recognized as PTI members, while 41 were marked as independents, following a Supreme Court ruling on July 12. The court had stated in its interim order that the Election Commission had recognized PTI as a political party and that members who had filed party tickets before the February 8 elections should be considered PTI members.

The updated party position released on Friday also details changes to seats previously held by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). The revision was made immediately after the Speaker’s communication with the Election Commission.

Under the new configuration, PML-N holds 110 seats, the Sunni Ittehad Council has 80 seats, PPP has 69 seats, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) holds 22 seats, JUI-F has eight seats, while independents, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMap), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP), and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) hold smaller numbers of seats.

If the Election Act is implemented, 23 reserved seats will be distributed among PML-N, PPP, and JUI. PML-N is set to receive 15 seats, PPP five, and JUI three.

This move appears to counter the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling, which had been seen as a victory for PTI. However, the ruling has yet to be implemented, and the Election Commission has requested clarification from the Supreme Court.

Earlier this week, eight of the 13 judges who presided over the case provided an explanation in response to the Election Commission’s inquiry, urging swift implementation of the court’s order.

Despite at least three meetings by the Election Commission this week, no conclusion has been reached. On Thursday, the body received a letter from National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, emphasizing that the Supreme Court judgment must be enforced in light of amendments to the Election Act 2017.

The parliament amended the election law after the July 12 ruling, which had barred MPs from switching political parties. The ruling PML-N argued that the judgment allowed Sunni Ittehad Council members to move to PTI, which they claimed violated the law. The recent amendment clarified that party-switching is prohibited.