This is a significant political decision, and it is reported that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has annulled the July 12, 2024, decision wherein it was ruled in the favor of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to gain reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
The court overturned the previous judgement of the “Peshawar High Court”, in the favour of the “Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)”.
By making this decision, the court has taken away the 77 reserved seats from PTI and given them to the ruling parties, including PML-N, PPP, and their allies.
A 7-5 majority of the court declared the earlier ruling by the eight-judge bench null and void.
Furthermore, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail did not change his previous position on 39 seats, and Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Hasan Azhar Rizvi accepted the review petitions on the condition and proposed sending the case of seat allocation to the ECP.
Breakdown of the 77 seats restored reserved is as follows:
- National assembly: 3 minority seats and 19 women seats
- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly: 21 female seats and 4 minority seats
- Punjab Assembly: 24 seats of women and 3 seats of the minority
- Sindh Assembly: 2 females seats; one seat minority
Additionally, this decision has been a big setback to the parliamentary power of PTI and a big victory of this coalition government.
