By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended a high court order that had denied a party aligned with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures.
A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday, issued the interim order, which relates only to the disputed seats allocated over and above the initially allocated reserved seats to political parties. The order will operate prospectively, effective from Monday.
The court said the allocation of reserved seats touches upon the foundational constitutional concept of parliamentary democracy, necessitating that the voice of the electorate is truly reflected in the composition of the assemblies. “It is paramount to prioritize the integrity of the elections so that parliament remains a true reflection of the will of the people,” the order said.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes as a relief to Khan’s PTI party, which had been denied its traditional electoral symbol, a cricket bat, on technical grounds ahead of February polls. The party subsequently formed an alliance with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to secure reserved seats for women and minorities in parliament.
The PTI-backed independent candidates joined a religious political party the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after they won the Feb 8 elections to secure reserved seats for women and minorities in parliament.
Under Pakistan’s election rules, political parties are allotted reserved seats in proportion to the number of parliamentary seats they win in the election.
The PTI-SIC alliance had appealed to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) after the Election Commission ruled in March that the SIC was not eligible for reserved seats due to having non-curable legal defects and violation of a mandatory provision of submission of party list for reserved seats.
The PHC had also rejected the appeal, prompting the SIC to approach the Supreme Court.
The court in its order also barred members of other political parties elected on reserved seats that should have been allotted to the SIC from casting their votes for or against any legislation.
The Supreme Court ordered placing 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 for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan highlighted that under Section 4 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, the present case should be heard by a larger bench since the issue concerns the interpretation of constitutional provisions.
While granting leave to the petitions, the Supreme Court said it would again take up the matter on June 3 and conclude the matter after daily hearings without granting any adjournment.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar reacted by stating that the Supreme Court should desist from issuing suspension orders by interfering in the legislative domain of parliament. “Courts always exercise extra caution on matters when it amounts to curtailing the rights of the elected members to legislate,” the minister said, adding that Article 67 was loud and clear in holding that any legislation done by the member remains in the field even if the law had defects.
PTI chairman Gohar Khan, who is also Khan’s lawyer, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision as a “vindication of our stance.”
He said the SIC had been deprived of 67 reserved seats for women and 11 parliamentary seats for minorities, which would have given the PTI a significant boost in parliament.
The development is a setback for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which as of now has lost its two-thirds majority after the court order. The government is already vulnerable to opposition challenges, particularly from Khan’s party. Khan, who is currently in jail following a string of convictions, and his party have alleged widespread rigging in the February 8 elections and have rejected the results.
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