 "Pakistan Supreme Court verdict on reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies: A big boost to Imran Khan")
In a landmark 8-5 split majority judgement read out by senior judge Mansoor Ali Shah, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled on Friday (July 12) that 80 members of the National Assembly (NA) who contested the February 8, 2024, general elections as Independents were entitled to be recognised as members of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf (PTI), which remained a valid political party despite the ban on its election symbol, ‘bat’, imposed by the Supreme Court by its January 13 order.
It further ruled that the PTI would be entitled to give lists for reserved seats in the National and Provincial Assemblies (PAs) within 15 days and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would have to re-assign reserved seats under Article 51 of the 1973 Constitution and Section 104 of the Election Act, 2017. Relevant parts of the March 4 order of the Peshawar High Court and the ECP’s March 1 order were ruled ultra vires. In a separate short order, Justice Yahya Afridi deemed the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) as not fulfilling conditions of being a political party.
A total of 22 reserved seats of the NA and 55 seats in PAs had become controversial, leading to appeals against the Peshawar High Court and ECP orders by petitioners belonging to the PTI and SIC. This order will adversely affect some women and minority MNAs already appointed and functioning as MNAs, though their votes for the Presidential election and Senate seats already concluded will not be affected.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa was not part of the majority judgement. In a separate order read out by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, with which he concurred, it was stated that the ECP misinterpreted the CJ’s January 13 order — mere deprivation of a party’s election symbol should not have led it to deem all PTI candidates as Independents. CJ Isa’s main concern during the prolonged 9 sessions of the full court from May 2024 onwards appeared to be to contain dissent and disunity within the 13-member full court bench, as also to redeem his own position after the adverse criticism he faced for his January 13 judgement depriving PTI of its bat symbol.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsA big boost to the PTI, the judgement will not threaten the parliamentary majority of the ruling alliance of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, supported by the People’s Party of Pakistan (PPP) and the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM). It will prevent grandiose ambitions though, to acquire two-thirds majority in Parliament to steamroller out of the box decisions including the much talked about plan to increase the tenure of sitting judges of the higher judiciary by three years.
According to jubilant PTI supporters, this was ‘a favourable judgement beyond expectations. They, however, reiterated that their struggle to get the people’s verdict of February 8 elections recognised fully had not yet concluded. Forty-one of their 80 MNAs will now have to file fresh affirmatory notifications of belonging to the PTI before the ECP within 15 days. Thirty-nine others had already given notifications to this effect.
Speaking to the media after the judgement, Law Minister Ataullah Tarar reiterated that his government faced no immediate threat of losing power, either at the Centre or in Punjab. He claimed, PTI had benefited without having been a party in the case while the SIC suffered adversely. Hinting that political considerations may have weighed more heavily than those purely legal, he however, hedged bets on whether a review petition would be filed against this judgment.
Saner counsels in Pakistan suggested that the judgement could impel polarised political forces to abjure confrontation and move towards conciliation or dialogue to ensure that political stability is gradually restored. While the ruling party may be willing to move forward in this regard, given the proclivities of a recalcitrant but still incarcerated PTI leader, Imran Khan, who is inclined to gloat but not yield an inch from his narrative of victimhood, such moves do not look likely to reach early fruition.
Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that facing a plethora of complicated constitutional issues and treading delicately a fragile wall of brinkmanship, the Supreme Court full court has not only delivered justice but is also seen to have done so, at least as far as PTI is concerned.
The writer is a former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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