The Supreme Court of Pakistan has overturned rulings by both the Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission regarding the allocation of reserved seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council, affirming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) entitlement to these seats.
The ruling, delivered on July 11 by a 13-member panel led by Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, declared the Election Commission’s earlier decision as unconstitutional. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah authored the decision, which received a majority vote of 8-5 among the justices.
The case originated from a petition challenging the non-allocation of reserved seats for the Sunni Ittehad Council, which was rejected unanimously by a 5-member larger bench of the Peshawar High Court on March 14.
The Supreme Court emphasized that the withdrawal of an election symbol should not disqualify a political party from contesting elections, reiterating that PTI is and has been recognized as a legitimate political entity.
As part of its verdict, the Supreme Court directed that out of 80 independent members, 39 should be confirmed as belonging to PTI within 15 days. The remaining 41 members must clarify their party affiliation within the same timeframe, with the Election Commission responsible for confirming and declaring their membership accordingly. This decision applies to both national and provincial assemblies across Pakistan.
The court’s ruling also rejected appeals related to the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council, concluding a legal process that had been under deliberation since July 9, when the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the matter.
Later, Justice Yahya Afridi read out the dissenting note. The chief justice read out the dissenting note of Justice Jamal Mandokhel, according to which the Sunni Ittehad Council did not contest elections, hence it was not eligible for the reserved seats. No candidate said they went to the Sunni Ittehad Council because of some confusion, it added.
The eight judges part of the majority decision were Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Azhar Ali Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.
Justice Yahya Afridi disagreed with the majority decision and wrote his own separate decision. Justice Aminuddin and Justice Naeem Akhtar dismissed the petitions of the Sunni Ittehad Council, while CJP Qazi Faez Isa upheld the dissenting judgement of Justice Mandokhel.
On July 9, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict in the case related to the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
During the hearing, the Sunni Ittehad Council lawyer said the party members were not independent, the election commission had recognized the SIC as a parliamentary party.
Justice Mandokhel remarked that at the time of distribution of the reserved seats, the SIC members were probably independent, to which the lawyer said the independent candidates had become part of the SIC at the time of the allocation of the reserved seats, which can be proved by the election commission records.
Justice Irfan Saadat remarked that Faisal Siddiqui’s party had got a bonus, as his party did not contest the election but got 90 seats. Justice Minallah asked if the election was conducted in normal conditions and transparently. “Why did a major political party have to send its candidates to another party?” he asked.
This decision marks a pivotal moment in Pakistan’s political landscape, underscoring the judiciary’s role in resolving electoral disputes and clarifying the allocation of parliamentary seats based on legal principles and constitutional rights.
