In a significant reversal of its earlier stance regarding the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) before the February 8 election, the apex court overturned the Peshawar High Court’s decision on Friday. The court ruled in favor of PTI, granting it the reserved seats for non-Muslim and women candidates in assemblies.
In an 8-5 majority decision, the Supreme Court declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) handling of reserved seats as ‘unconstitutional’. The court affirmed that PTI would remain a recognized political party, even without an assigned election symbol. The verdict, authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, favored PTI’s allocation of reserved seats. The majority included Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Irfan Saadat, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Hassan Athar Rizvi, and Justice Ali Mazhar. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, and Justice Aminuddin Khan dissented.
Justice Yahya Afridi authored a dissenting opinion.
The Supreme Court’s verdict acknowledged PTI as a political party and rejected appeals from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). The court stated that PTI could submit a list of candidates for the reserved seats, with 41 candidates required to present certificates proving their party membership.
The full court bench had deliberated on PTI’s reserved seats for nearly two hours on Wednesday, with the meeting presided over by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and attended by 12 justices.
Conclusive Proceedings
During the final hearing, SIC counsel Faisal Siddiqui argued that the ECP had not fulfilled its responsibilities. He contended that the ECP’s decision against SIC was biased and contrary to its own documents. The bench raised questions about the ECP’s decisions and its constitutionality, with Justice Mandokhail and Justice Saadat highlighting differences between SIC and other parties like the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
The Chief Justice inquired whether the Supreme Court should consider the 2018 election anomalies, while Advocate Siddiqui emphasized the discriminatory attitude of the ECP.
The bench must decide whether reserved seats will be allocated to SIC or other parties or referred to parliament.
Background
On March 4, the ECP decided to allocate assembly seats through proportional representation, resulting in PTI-backed SIC losing 77 reserved seats. The Peshawar High Court had also rejected SIC’s petitions challenging the ECP’s decision.
The ongoing legal battle over reserved seats has seen opposition from major political parties, with the Supreme Court ultimately tasked with resolving the dispute.
