Following the Supreme Court’s decision on PTI-SIC reserved seats, the government expresses concern

On Monday, the federal government voiced worries over a Supreme Court ruling that stopped the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from awarding reserved seats to other parties.

Judge Mansoor Ali Shah’s three-judge panel allowed permission to appeal and postponed the decision until June 3. The ECP’s decision to give other political parties reserved seats was unanimously suspended by the bench.

The PHC’s earlier decision, which rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) appeal against the ECP’s decision to deny the party reserved seats, crushed the PTI’s prospects of obtaining seats.

After the party lost its electoral symbol due to the verdict in the intra-party election case, PTI-backed independent candidates relocated to the SIC.

During CJP Qazi Faez Isa’s term, the PTI has never before been able to obtain relief from the highest court.

This is a question of constitutional interpretation, and the bigger bench should have provided directives in this case, according to a statement from Tarar.

He claimed that the PHC’s final ruling will remain and that the highest court should have been cautious in issuing its temporary order.

The federal minister said that it was proper and preferable for a five-member larger bench to consider such matters under the Supreme Court’s Practice and Procedure Act.

“The legitimacy of a member’s legislation is not questioned under Article 67; it is hoped that the Peshawar High Court’s final decision will prevail,” he said.