Reserved Seats Case Supreme Court Decision Pending
The Supreme Court has reserved its decision regarding the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council. The Chief Justice remarked that if the Sunni Ittehad Council has no general seats, how can they receive reserved seats?Justice Athar Minallah asked if the elections were held in normal conditions and transparently, noting that a political party was excluded from the elections, and no arguments were presented about the voter’s rights. Justice Jamal questioned whether the Election Commission’s decision was in accordance with the constitution. The Chief Justice commented that he did not want to embarrass anyone, asking if the 2018 elections were fair.A significant development has emerged from the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council. The full court bench hearing the case has concluded the hearing and reserved its decision. As Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa left the bench, he remarked that it would be seen if a short order could be announced today. However, the court staff later informed the parties that the short order would not be announced today. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has now reserved its decision regarding the reserved seats of the Sunni Ittehad Council. Whether these seats will go to the Sunni Ittehad Council or remain with other political parties as an additional entitlement, and whether the decisions of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Peshawar High Court will stand, remains to be decided. During the final hearing today, Faisal Siddiqui, the lawyer for the Sunni Ittehad Council, completed his rebuttal. Following this, Salman Akram Raja, the lawyer for the president of the women’s wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), also presented his arguments. PTI also submitted a response during today’s hearing, challenging the documents presented by the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding the nomination papers of PTI candidates. PTI argued that the Election Commission did not provide the Supreme Court with the correct and complete record. Faisal Siddiqui stated that the reserved seats should rightfully go to the Sunni Ittehad Council, reading out the relevant subsection of Article 51-D of the constitution to the court. The full court bench of the Supreme Court has reserved its decision, which will not be announced today but could be delivered tomorrow or in the coming days, determining whether the reserved seats will go to the Sunni Ittehad Council or remain with other political parties. It was also mentioned that PTI had filed a request to become a party in the case. Previously, it was speculated that the decision might be reserved today, which indeed happened. What became of PTI’s request? PTI had filed not one but two applications in this case. The first application was to become a party in the case before the Supreme Court, while the second application requested that the Supreme Court’s decision of January 13 regarding the election symbol of the bat be reconsidered by the larger bench along with this case. However, this request was not granted, and PTI did not press these applications in the courtroom. Instead, PTI’s lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, presented their written stance regarding the case to the Supreme Court, representing PTI and their chairman, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan.