On Monday, the Supreme Court heard a petition filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which includes lawmakers-elect from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), regarding the denial of reserved seats for women and minorities.
The SIC, joined by independent candidates backed by the PTI after winning the February 8 elections, had challenged the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to not allocate reserved seats to them. The ECP had cited legal deficiencies and a failure to submit a party list for reserved seats as reasons for its decision. Instead, the ECP decided to distribute the seats among other parties, with the PML-N and PPP benefitting the most. The PTI rejected the ECP’s decision as unconstitutional.
In March, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) dismissed an SIC plea challenging the ECP decision. In April, the SIC filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the PHC judgment.
The Supreme Court, headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and including Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, heard the case. The SIC’s counsel, Faisal Siddiqui, presented arguments before the bench. The court summoned ECP officials urgently and issued notices to the federal government and Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan.
During the hearing, Justice Shah emphasized the importance of protecting the public mandate, stating, “The real issue is of the public mandate.”
