ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on Tuesday regarding the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) appeal against the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision, which upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) denial of reserved seats to them.
A 13-member full court bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, heard the case. Barrister Salman Akram Raja represented Kanwal Shauzab, while Faisal Siddiqui represented the SIC. The bench also included 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 Ayesha Malik, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
The issue arose when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed independent candidates won the February 8 elections and joined the SIC to claim seats reserved for minorities and women. However, the ECP denied these seats, citing the party’s failure to submit a list of candidates. The PHC upheld this decision, leading the SIC to seek redress from the Supreme Court.
The SIC requested the allocation of 67 women and 11 minority seats in the assemblies, a significant number as PTI-backed independent candidates lost 77 reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies due to the PHC’s ruling. PTI has also petitioned to be included in the case, arguing they were ready to submit a candidate list but were denied.
Both the federal government and the ECP opposed the SIC’s plea. Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, representing the government, urged the court to reject the SIC’s request, stating that reserved seats could only be allocated to political parties that contested the polls, won at least one seat, and provided a candidate list according to the law. The ECP echoed this argument, noting the SIC’s ineligibility due to their failure to submit the candidate list before the January 24 deadline.
