Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday said that former Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, a major blow to PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government.
A bench of 13 members announced the verdict and puts increased pressure on the country’s fragile coalition government, according to the Reuters.
Despite being barred from the polls, PTI candidates ran as independents in the February 8th election and secured the most seats. However, the election commission had stated that independents were not eligible for the allocation of 70 reserved seats, which were intended solely for political parties.
The SC placed the present petitions before the three-judge committee that determines the constitution of the bench for the reconstitution of a larger bench when attorney general Mansoor Usman Awan highlighted that under Section 4 of the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, the present case should be heard by a larger bench since the issue concerns the interpretation of constitutional provisions, Dawn reported.
A day ago, the court had reserved its decision on the matter after closing the hearing on a set of appeals moved by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The SIC had filed a petition demanding that 77 seats for women and minorities, which were originally allotted to PM Shehbaz’s ruling coalition after the February 8 general elections, be reallocated to the alliance. However, in March, the Peshawar high court (PHC) and the election commission rejected the council’s appeal in separate rulings, declaring it ineligible for the reserved seats, as per the Dawn.
Although the allocation of 23 reserved seats does not impact PM Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government’s parliamentary majority, it does strengthen the political position of Khan’s supporters. They have been claiming that the election commission and a pro-military caretaker government that supervised the polls engaged in electoral fraud to prevent them from winning. Both the commission and the military refute these allegations, but concerns have been raised in the West regarding the transparency of the elections.
A bench of 13 members announced the verdict and puts increased pressure on the country’s fragile coalition government, according to the Reuters.
Despite being barred from the polls, PTI candidates ran as independents in the February 8th election and secured the most seats. However, the election commission had stated that independents were not eligible for the allocation of 70 reserved seats, which were intended solely for political parties.
The SC placed the present petitions before the three-judge committee that determines the constitution of the bench for the reconstitution of a larger bench when attorney general Mansoor Usman Awan highlighted that under Section 4 of the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, the present case should be heard by a larger bench since the issue concerns the interpretation of constitutional provisions, Dawn reported.
A day ago, the court had reserved its decision on the matter after closing the hearing on a set of appeals moved by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The SIC had filed a petition demanding that 77 seats for women and minorities, which were originally allotted to PM Shehbaz’s ruling coalition after the February 8 general elections, be reallocated to the alliance. However, in March, the Peshawar high court (PHC) and the election commission rejected the council’s appeal in separate rulings, declaring it ineligible for the reserved seats, as per the Dawn.
Although the allocation of 23 reserved seats does not impact PM Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government’s parliamentary majority, it does strengthen the political position of Khan’s supporters. They have been claiming that the election commission and a pro-military caretaker government that supervised the polls engaged in electoral fraud to prevent them from winning. Both the commission and the military refute these allegations, but concerns have been raised in the West regarding the transparency of the elections.
