Court Diary
Out of the 60 reserved seats for women in the National Assembly, the Election Commission had distributed 40 seats among various political parties. These included 20 out of 32 from Punjab, 10 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all 14 seats from Sindh, and four seats from Balochistan. Similarly, seven out of the 10 reserved seats for minorities in the National Assembly were allotted, with three remaining.
However, the Election Commission has now allocated the remaining 23 reserved seats in the National Assembly to Pakistan Muslim League-N (16), Pakistan Peoples Party (5), while one additional seat each was given to Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.
In the Punjab Assembly, out of the 66 reserved seats for women, 42 had been allotted, along with five out of eight minority seats. In the Sindh Assembly, 27 out of the total 29 reserved seats for women had been allotted, along with eight out of nine minority seats.
On February 28, 2024, a five-member bench led by the Chief Election Commissioner issued a unanimous written decision, declaring that Sunni Ittehad Council was not entitled to the reserved seats. Four members decided to allocate the seats to other political parties, while member Punjab Babar Hassan Bharwana, in a dissenting note, suggested that until Articles 51 and 106 are amended, the seats should remain vacant instead of being distributed among other political parties.
Sunni Ittehad Council challenged the Election Commission’s decision in the Peshawar High Court. In March, a five-member larger bench of the Peshawar High Court upheld the Election Commission’s decision and dismissed the appeal of Sunni Ittehad Council.
Subsequently, in May, the matter reached the Supreme Court, where a three-member bench comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar suspended the decisions of the Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission in the first hearing on May 6, 2024.
The three-member bench of the Supreme Court, raising questions of constitutional and legal interpretation, referred the matter to the Practice and Procedure Committee for the formation of a larger bench. In a majority decision, the committee, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Muneeb Akhtar, decided to form a full court. The 13-member full court, after six extensive hearings, concluded the hearing on July 9 and reserved the decision.
On Friday, July 12, the Supreme Court issued a decision to allocate the reserved seats for women and minorities to PTI. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa stated that the decision was by a majority of 5-8. He asked Justice Mansoor Ali Shah to announce the decision, which was authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
Announcing the decision, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party and remains so. The absence of an election symbol does not bar a political party from elections. Not having an election symbol cannot disqualify a political party from the election. PTI is entitled to the reserved seats. PTI should submit the list of individuals for the reserved seats within 15 days of this decision.
