In a significant legal turnaround, the Supreme Court of Pakistan intervened on Monday to suspend the Peshawar High Court’s decision that previously barred the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) from obtaining reserved seats for women and minorities. The SIC, which recently became a political shelter for PTI’s elected representatives, had challenged the High Court’s ruling.
The case was presided over by a three-member Supreme Court bench led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, along with Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, responding to an appeal lodged by the SIC. The Sunni Ittehad Council had suffered a setback when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) delivered a verdict in March, deciding against the SIC’s claim to reserved seats based on “non-curable legal defects and a breach of mandatory submission procedures for party lists.”
The ECP’s decision also resulted in the reallocation of these seats to other parties, primarily benefiting PML-N and PPP, who gained 16 and five additional seats respectively, with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl receiving four. PTI dismissed the commission’s ruling as unconstitutional.
Further intensifying the legal battle, SIC took their grievances to the Supreme Court after the PHC upheld the ECP’s decision in March, denying the reserved seats to the SIC. Represented by lawyer Faisal Siddiqi and facing opposition from Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and an ECP official, the SIC sought to overturn the PHC judgment.
The Supreme Court’s decision to accept the appeal for hearing signals a critical review of the foundational principles of parliamentary democracy and representativeness in legislative assemblies. The court underscored the necessity of preserving electoral integrity to ensure Parliament reflects the populace’s will.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a comprehensive hearing for June 6, inviting additional documentation from both parties. Furthermore, the court directed that notices be sent to the advocate general of Pakistan and provincial advocate generals, indicating the gravity of the constitutional issues raised.
The legal discourse at the Supreme Court was intense, with Justice Minallah questioning the criteria for a political party’s eligibility to claim reserved seats and the broader implications for the representation in Parliament. The ECP officials were summoned to clarify the legal basis for their previous allocation of reserved seats.
As the hearing concluded, the justices emphasized the need to adhere to constitutional guidelines in the allocation of parliamentary seats, hinting at the potential for a larger bench to review the case due to its significant constitutional implications.
For now, the Supreme Court’s suspension of the PHC and ECP decisions is limited to the additional reserved seats allocated to other political parties, pending a final determination on June 6. This case continues to be a pivotal one for Pakistan’s evolving political landscape.