ISLAMABAD – Supreme Court of Pakistan has void orders of Peshawar High Court and Election Commission of Pakistan taking away reserved seats from PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council.
The much anticipated verdict was made by majority of 8-5, and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf PTI has been given two weeks to file documents that will allow the party to get the reserved seats.
The apex court stated that taking away election symbol does revoke right of a party to participate in general polls. PTI was and is a political party, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Hassan Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, and Justice Irfan Saadat ruled in favour of SIC while Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan rejected the appeals, while Justice Yahya Afridi penned a different opinion.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail determined that election body misinterpreted the order issued on January 13.
Spearheaded by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the bench includes Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
On Thursday, a supplementary cause list said the verdict would be announced by a three-member bench at 9:30 am, and it was later delayed till noon.
The country’s apex court held two full-court meetings to deliberate the decision after it was reserved.
Reserved Seats Case
Members of Imran Khan’s PTI were forced to run as independent candidates in the February general elections after the Supreme Court ruled that the party’s internal elections were flawed. Consequently, PTI candidates could not use the party’s cricket bat symbol during the campaign.
Despite this, PTI-backed candidates won the most seats in the National Assembly. To secure the reserved seats, they aligned with the religiopolitical party, the SIC.
Justice Minallah has stated that the ECP misinterpreted the court verdict on reserved seats.
The outcome of the case could significantly impact the composition of the National Assembly. PTI hopes to gain 78 reserved seats that were allocated to rival parties in the elections.
In a letter to the apex court, the country’s top electoral authority reiterated that the SIC was ineligible for the reserved seats and insisted there was “no flaw” in the ECP’s and PHC’s decisions, which were made “under the Constitution and law.”
More updates to follow…
