- Barrister Gohar says deeply disappointed by verdict.
- Announces to protest in and outside parliament.
- “Reserved seats rightfully belonged to PTI.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday rejected the Supreme Court’s verdict on reserved seats, calling the decision “unjust and a misinterpretation of the Constitution.”
In a major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench has accepted review petitions and ruled that the Imran Khan-founded party is not entitled to seats reserved for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.
The verdict was announced by a 10-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan on Friday.
Announcing the short ruling, Justice Aminuddin Khan said, “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 all review petitions are allowed and impugn majority judgement dated July 12, 2024 is set aside as a consequence thereof civil appeals … filed by SIC are dismissed and judgement rendered by the PHC is restored.”
Speaking to Geo News following the ruling, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan expressed disappointment over the top court’s ruling and said: “We are deeply disappointed… the decision is unfair to PTI, and the Constitution has been wrongly interpreted,” Barrister Gohar said.
“The reserved seats rightfully belonged to PTI,” said the PTI chairman.
Barrister Gohar maintained that after today’s SC review decision on reserved seats, the party has no further legal recourse. “We cannot take this matter to any other court after this review judgment,” he added.
However, the PTI’s top leader said that his party will raise the issue in and outside the parliament. “We will register our protest both within parliament and at the public level,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an official statement following the apex court’s verdict, PTI termed the verdict as the “darkest day in the country’s constitutional history.”
The party recalled that the same Supreme Court had previously recognised PTI’s constitutional right to the reserved seats for women and minorities. “That was a time when the court announced a decision by the Constitution,” PTI said.
Reacting to the verdict, Senator Hamid Khan said the ruling was “not based on justice” and alleged that the bench lacked the authority to decide the matter.
The party further noted that the case had remained under judicial consideration for several months. “PTI knocked on every legal door, presented every argument, and raised every constitutional point,” read the statement.
Reserved seats saga
The reserved seats’ issue first emerged after over 80 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 SIC then approached the ECP on February 21 seeking allocation of reserved seats. However, the PTI suffered a setback after the electoral body, citing the party’s failure to submit its list of candidates, denied allocating the reserved seats to the SIC via its 4-1 majority verdict on March 4.
In the verdict, the ECP said it extended the deadline to submit a priority list for the reserved seats of women, and the SIC, before the February 8 polls, did not submit the required list which was “mandatory”.
While rejecting the plea of SIC, the ECP accepted applications of the opposing parties and decided that the seats in the National Assembly would not remain vacant and be allocated by a proportional representation process of political parties on the basis of seats won by political parties.
The party then approached the PHC on March 6, which upheld the electoral body’s decision on the matter in its March 14 ruling.
Subsequently, on April 2, the SIC moved the SC seeking to set aside the PHC verdict and the allocation of 67 women and 11 minority seats in the assemblies.
