ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday resumed hearing the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea against the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict upholding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision denying them the reserved seats.
The case is being heard by a 13-member full court SC bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.
The bench also comprises Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, Justice Ayesha Malik and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
During today’s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman will continue his arguments, whereas Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) lawyer Farooq H Naek will also be presenting his arguments before the court as well.
The reserved seats issue had arisen after the PTI-backed independent candidates emerged victorious in the February 8 elections and subsequently joined the SIC in a bid to claim seats reserved for minorities and women.
The PTI, however, failed to secure the reserved seats as the ECP, citing the party’s failure to submit its list of candidates, denied allocating the reserved seats to the SIC.
Subsequently, the PHC also upheld the electoral body’s decision on the matter after which the issue ended up in the SC.
The ECP, in its submission to the apex court, has argued that the SIC does not qualify for reserved seats as the political party doesn’t allow non-Muslims to be a part of it.
The ECP informed the top court that the reserved seats cannot be allotted to the SIC as the party did not submit the list of candidates before the January 24 deadline.
The whole reserved seats issue holds significance as the PTI-backed independent candidates, who make up the majority of the opposition benches, lost as many as 77 reserved seats in NA and provincial assemblies due to the PHC’s verdict.
Furthermore, the government has also urged the SC to reject the SIC’s appeal seeking the allocation of reserved seats for women and minorities in the National and provincial assemblies.
The 30-page written submission argues that the reserved seats for minorities and women could be given to a political party which contested the polls and won at least one seat besides providing a list of candidates based on the total number of seats it won as per the law.
Meanwhile, the PTI has also moved the SC seeking to become a party in the said case with the petition arguing that they and the SIC were deprived of reserved seats despite being eligible.
The SIC was ready to provide a list of candidates for the allocations but was denied permission to submit it, the plea argues.
More to follow…
