In a significant blow to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench has granted review petitions and determined that the party founded by Imran Khan is not eligible for reserved seats designated for women and minorities in both the national and provincial assemblies.
The judgment was delivered on Friday by a 10-member bench presided over by Justice Aminuddin Khan.
Announcing the concise verdict, Justice Aminuddin Khan stated, “Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, Justice Hashim Khan Kakar, Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi have all allowed the review petitions, and the impugned majority judgment dated July 12, 2024, is set aside. Consequently, the civil appeals … filed by SIC are dismissed, and the judgment rendered by the PHC is reinstated.”
The head of the bench further elaborated: “While Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, for reasons to be subsequently recorded, allowed the review petitions and upheld his original order concerning 39 seats, he reviewed the majority judgment to the extent of 41 seats. Furthermore, Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, for reasons to be recorded later, also reviewed the judgment and allowed the review petitions with the caveat that since the factual controversy or disputed questions of fact could not be resolved by either the PCH or this court in original or review jurisdiction, directions are hereby issued to the ECP to scrutinize and consider the nomination papers/declarations and other relevant documents of all 80 returned candidates through a thorough examination regarding their affiliation …”
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the Election Commission of Pakistan had lodged review petitions against the Supreme Court’s ruling of July 12, 2024, which had previously affirmed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s entitlement to reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the SC’s full bench had previously announced the 8-5 majority verdict, which had nullified the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order that had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to deny reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
In its July 12 verdict, eight out of 13 judges had ruled that 39 out of a list of 80 MNAs were and are the elected candidates of the PTI.
