In a major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench has accepted review petitions and ruled that the party, founded by Imran Khan, is not entitled to seats reserved for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.
The decision was announced on Friday by a 10-member bench led by Justice Aminuddin Khan. Delivering the short order, Justice Aminuddin stated that all review petitions had been allowed, setting aside the majority judgment dated July 12, 2024. As a result, the civil appeals filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) were dismissed, and the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) judgment was reinstated.
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Justice Aminuddin, along with Justices Mussarat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Hashim Khan Kakar, Aamir Farooq, and Ali Baqar Najafi, supported this decision. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail agreed to allow the review petitions concerning 41 seats but maintained his original stance regarding 39 seats. Justices Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi allowed the review petitions, instructing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to re-examine the nomination papers and declarations of all 80 returned candidates regarding their affiliations.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and ECP had filed review petitions against the Supreme Court’s July 12, 2024, ruling, which had entitled PTI to the reserved seats. That ruling, delivered by an 8-5 majority led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, had overturned the PHC’s order and directed the ECP to allocate reserved seats to PTI, affirming its right despite the absence of a common election symbol.
Following the February 8 elections, more than 80 PTI-backed independents had joined the SIC to claim the reserved seats. However, the ECP, citing the SIC’s failure to submit a priority list of candidates by the legal deadline, denied their request. This decision was upheld by the PHC.
In July 2024, the Supreme Court had ruled that the PTI was eligible for reserved seats, declaring that denial of an election symbol did not affect its constitutional rights. The court had ordered the PTI to submit its candidate list within 15 days and directed the ECP to allocate the reserved seats accordingly. That ruling temporarily altered the composition of the National Assembly and weakened the coalition’s two-thirds majority.
However, the latest Supreme Court ruling has reversed that position, restoring the PHC’s decision. The verdict solidified the position of the ruling coalition — PML-N, PPP, and allies — which had already gained additional reserved seats following the ECP’s earlier decision.
The allocation of these reserved seats had been crucial in boosting the PML-N’s strength to 123 seats in the National Assembly, with the PPP at 73, while the PTI-backed SIC held 82 seats. The latest decision marks a significant blow to PTI’s parliamentary standing and reaffirms the coalition’s majority.