ISLAMABAD: Suprseme Court of Pakistan has said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was entitled for reserved seats and that Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)'s decision of allocating reserved seats to ruling coalition was unconsititional.

Verdict on Sunni Ittehad Council reserved seats case was announced by full bench of Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

It comprised of Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar, Yahya Afridi, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Athar Minallah, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, Irfan Saadat Khan, and Naeem Akhtar Afghan. Verdict suspended previous decisions of ECP, PHC regarding allocation of reserved seats.

Candidates of PTI cannot be declared independent candidates, nor representatives of any other party, verdict said adding that ECP had incorrectly declared members of PTI as independents.

"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was political party, remains political party", order said while instructing PTI to submit list of its reserved seats candidates within 15 days. Decision was announced by 8-5 majority of full court bench.Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ameenuddin Khan opposed majority decision.

The issue of reserved seats arose following the February 8 elections, where over 80 independent candidates, backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), emerged victorious and later joined the SIC.

It followed CJP Isa's January 10 decision that effectively deprived the PTI of its 'cricket bat' election symbol ahead of the February 8 general elections.

The PTI-back candidates, who had emerged victorious in the election and joined the SIC after their party's symbol was taken, sought to claim seats reserved for minorities and women. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected this allocation, citing the SIC's failure to submit its list of candidates.

Published in The Daily National Courier, July, 13 2024

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