Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa is seeking clarification on various aspects of an order concerning reserved seats, specifically regarding who will verify the political affiliation of returned candidates. On Saturday, he posed nine questions to the Supreme Court registrar aimed at clarifying the ambiguities in a recent short order related to reserved seats for women and minorities in national and provincial assemblies.
This administrative order was issued to address the uncertainties stemming from an order made by eight Supreme Court judges on September 14, following a petition from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The Chief Justice highlighted the issue of verifying the political affiliations of candidates (MPAs and MNAs) who have submitted statements in accordance with a July 12, 2024 Supreme Court ruling, especially given that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) currently lacks a valid organizational structure.
In its response to the ECP petition, the PTI filed a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal with the Supreme Court, seeking guidance on various factual and legal matters related to the July 12 ruling. The ECP claimed difficulties in implementing the order due to PTI’s organizational status.
The eight judges—Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan—had directed the ECP to fully implement the July 12 judgment, warning that failure to do so could lead to serious consequences.
In light of these developments, Chief Justice Isa raised the following questions regarding the handling of the applications and the issuance of the order:
- When were these applications filed?
- Why were they not presented before the committee constituted under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023?
- How were these applications scheduled for hearing without a cause list?
- Did the office issue notices to the relevant parties and the Attorney General for Pakistan?
- In which courtroom or chamber were the applications heard, and by whom?
- Why was a cause list not issued for the announcement of the order?
- Why was the order not fixed for announcement?
- How was the order uploaded to the Supreme Court’s website without first depositing the original file in the court’s office?
- Who directed the uploading of the order on the Supreme Court’s website?
