Islamabad: In a significant decision, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has overturned its earlier ruling from July 12, 2024, concerning reserved seats, siding with a majority of 7 judges against 5. The constitutional bench upheld the Peshawar High Court's earlier verdict, rejecting the allocation of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), effectively denying the party's claim to representation through reserved quotas.
The 11-member full court, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, delivered the short order after concluding hearings on petitions seeking a review of the July 12 verdict. The constitutional bench comprised Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Aqeel Abbasi, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Hashim Kakar, Salahuddin Panhwar, Aamir Farooq, and Ali Baqar Najafi.
At the beginning of the hearing, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar recused himself from the bench after SIC’s lawyer Hamid Khan objected to the inclusion of justices appointed after the 26th Constitutional Amendment. Justice Panhwar said his withdrawal was to maintain public trust in the judiciary.
The courtroom witnessed tense exchanges, with Justice Mandokhail and other judges admonishing Hamid Khan over his conduct and legal arguments. Justice Mandokhail questioned the legal basis of Hamid Khan’s objections, stating that judges could not be selectively accepted or rejected depending on one’s legal strategy.
The bench criticized SIC’s approach, pointing out that independent candidates supported by PTI did not formally join the party within the three-day constitutional window, nor did they approach the Election Commission, High Court, or Supreme Court within the required timeframe.
Previously, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on March 4, had denied reserved seats to SIC, citing the party’s failure to submit priority lists for women and minority representation as required under constitutional provisions and the Elections Act. The ECP distributed the unallocated seats to other parliamentary parties, including PML-N, PPP, MQM-P, and JUI-F.
The Supreme Court had initially overturned that decision on July 12, 2024, awarding the seats to PTI through SIC. That verdict has now been annulled. Justices Ayesha Malik and Aqeel Abbasi dissented from Friday’s majority decision, declaring the review petitions inadmissible.
Following the ruling, the ruling coalition has secured a stronger foothold in the National Assembly. Prior to the verdict, the alliance held 218 seats: 110 (PML-N), 70 (PPP), 22 (MQM-P), and 5 (PML-Q). With the redistribution of reserved seats, PML-N gained 15 more seats, PPP 4, and JUI-F 3, raising their total to 125, 74, and 11 respectively.
This brings the governing alliance's tally to 237 in the 336-member National Assembly, comfortably crossing the two-thirds majority threshold of 224 seats. Opposition parties, including SIC (80), 8 independents aligned with PTI, and 8 JUI-F members, now collectively hold around 100 seats.
This landmark ruling not only reshapes the composition of the National Assembly but also cements the ruling coalition’s legislative dominance.
