Pakistan's top court shifts parliamentary reserved seats from opposition to ruling allies

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan’s top court on Friday reviewed its previous decision to allot legislative reserved seats to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In a majority verdict, a 12-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, granted a review petition filed by the country's election commission, ruling that the PTI doesn't deserve the reserved seats, a court record said.

Seven out of 12 judges ruled in favor of the review petition, whereas five judges dissented with the majority judgment.

The 13th member of the bench, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, rescued himself after an objection from the PTI.

In July last year, a 13-member full bench of the Supreme Court, in a majority verdict with eight judges in favor, ruled in favor of the PTI, ordering the election commission to allot some 77 reserved seats in the parliament and the provincial assemblies to the opposition party.

The election commission and some other political parties, however, had filed a review petition.

The ruling alliance will now have a two-thirds majority in the lower house - the National Assembly.

Over 220 such reserved seats for women and minorities in parliament and provincial legislative assemblies were allotted to the ruling alliance after the Feb. 8 general elections.

The election commission will now allot these 77 seats in parliament to the Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party, and other political parties.

The PTI did not take part in the general elections as a party, and its candidates joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after it was stripped of its election symbol, “cricket bat,” by the election commission.

The PTI-backed candidates had won most of the seats, over 90, in the elections.

However, the elections body did not allot the reserved seats to the SIC “due to having non-curable legal defects and violation of a mandatory provision of submission of party list for reserved seats.”

The Peshawar High Court had validated the election body’s decision.

The top court, however, had overturned the Peshawar High Court judgment.