ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court judge Justice Yahya Afridi said that PTI is an eligible party for reserved seats, being legitimate political party, whereas Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) fails to meet necessary constitutional criteria.

In dissenting note on Supreme Court’s decision regarding reserved seats, he called on Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to re-evaluate notification concerning reserved seats. He pointed out that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had not initially become party in court proceedings, as no formal application was submitted by them at time. Justice Afridi highlighted that PTI only requested to be included as party on June 26, with Barrister Gohar seeking to assist in ongoing case. However, PTI did not explicitly ask for any declarations in their favour. Therefore, Justice Afridi emphasised need for Election Commission to reconsider notification related to reserved seats.

Furthermore, Justice Afridi addressed role of Sunni Ittehad Council in case, stating that Council does not meet constitutional requirements to qualify for reserved seats. As result, their applications were rejected. In contrast, Justice Afridi recognised PTI as legitimate political party eligible for reserved seats, underlining that it meets necessary criteria.