Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC), seeking further explanation of the apex court’s verdict in the party’s reserved seats case, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
In the petition filed by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the SC was requested to give its viewpoint on the letter written by the National Assembly speaker to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the subject.
The petitioner prayed to the apex court to make it clear that the amendment made to the Election Act would not apply to its July 12, 2024 order in which it had declared the PTI eligible for reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
Barrister Gohar further said in the plea that the ECP was bound to implement the SC’s July 12 order.
On the list showing the actual party positions in the National Assembly (NA), as updated on September 18, 80 PTI MNAs were shown to be belonging to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The National Assembly speaker too urged the body to honour laws made by parliament, insisting that the amended Elections Act prevented independent lawmakers from switching parties.
In July, a 13-member bench of the top court had declared that the PTI was eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies. The verdict gave the party a new lease on life.
The SC dealt a further major blow to the PML-N-led coalition government last week as it reprimanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for not implementing its July 12 judgment, further complicating the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration’s efforts to secure the required numbers to pass a controversial constitutional package related to the judiciary.
The SC clarified that as per the position, 41 returned candidates, out of a total of 80 MNAs, would remain members of the PTI and, consequently, members of the PTI’s parliamentary party in both the national and provincial assemblies. The ECP had already notified 39 of the lawmakers as PTI MNAs but was undecided on the remaining 41.
Reporter: Hashir Ahsan