The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities on Friday, delivering a significant blow to PM Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.
A 13-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, announced the verdict. The court had reserved its decision after hearing appeals from the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) the previous day.
Congratulations to the entire nation for the massive win in the revered seats case. Not only did PTI win 8-5 in the Supreme Court but 11 judges declared PTI a political party and allowed to contest elections. More than us, this case was for the survival of the Supreme Court and…
— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) July 12, 2024
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The SIC petitioned for the reallocation of 77 seats for women and minorities, initially assigned to PM Shehbaz’s coalition after the February 8 general elections. However, both the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected this appeal in March, deeming the SIC ineligible for these seats.
On May 6, the Supreme Court suspended the PHC and ECP’s March rulings, which had denied the SIC the reserved seats. The court ordered the petitions to be placed before a three-judge committee to form a larger bench, as the case involved interpreting constitutional provisions, as highlighted by Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan.
Just IN:— With its status as political party restored, former PM Khan's PTI partyti become largest political party in parliament of Pakistan.
— South Asia Index (@SouthAsiaIndex) July 12, 2024
The ECP then suspended victory notifications for 77 members of the national and provincial assemblies elected to those seats.
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In the verdict announced on Friday, the Supreme Court nullified the PHC and ECP decisions, declaring them unconstitutional. The decision, made by a majority of eight judges, was announced by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and included Justices Shahid Waheed, Ayesha Malik, Irfan Saadat, Athar Minallah, Muneeb Akhtar, Hasan Azhar Rizvi, and Muhammad Ali Mazhar.
A short order of the verdict will be released by the court soon.