PESHAWAR: Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan on Wednesday told the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) was not entitled to the reserved seats as the party had not submitted. list of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ahead of 2024 general elections.
A five-judge bench headed by PHC Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Arshad Ali took up the SIC’s plea against the ECP’s decision denying the party allotment of reserved seats. .
On March 4, the electoral body accepted the applications of the opposing parties and decided that the seats in the National Assembly and regional councils will not remain vacant and will be allocated by proportional representation of political parties based on the mandates obtained. political parties.
During the hearing of the case today, the PHC expressed displeasure over the absence of PTI lawyers Barrister Ali Zafar and Babar Awan.
SIC lawyer Qazi Anwar argued before the senate that PTI-backed independent candidates joined the SIC after winning the elections, so the party is entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities.
AGP Awan told the court that the reserved seats could not be given to the SIC in any case as the party had not submitted the list of reserved seats to the ECP.
In addition, the AGP said the SIC does not have a single seat in parliament and its chairman also contested the February 8 election as an independent candidate.
Subsequently, the PHC, on the request of Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel, adjourned the hearing of the matter to tomorrow (Thursday) at 9:00 AM.
On March 4, the electoral body accepted the applications of the opposing parties and decided that the seats in the National Assembly and regional councils will not remain vacant and will be allocated by proportional representation of political parties based on the mandates obtained. political parties.
These developments resulted in the PTI-backed SIC losing a total of 77 reserved seats, including 23 National Assembly seats (20 women and 3 minorities), 25 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seats (21 women and 4 minorities), two Sindh Assembly seats (women ) and 27 chairs. Punjab Assembly seats (24 women and 3 minorities).
Following the ECP verdict, the SIC secured a stay order from the PHC, in which the court barred legislators notified of reserved seats denied to the party from taking oath.
