ISLAMABAD: Justice Jamal Mandokhail, a member of the full court bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has asked how the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) got an election symbol in the 2018 election without holding intra-party polls at that time.
He raised the question during the hearing of the petition filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) against a decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) not to allot reserved seats to it in the national and provincial assemblies.
A 13-member full court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa heard the case on Monday.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who leads the 13-member full bench, responded to Justice Mandokhail by observing that indulging into the past matter would also bring the Senate Chairman’s election into question.
The Chief Justice noted that the matter of PTI intra-party elections had been ongoing for many years, with the party repeatedly requesting time for these elections.
He observed that it was evident that the PTI had failed to conduct intra-party elections despite a year passing.
Justice Ayesha Malik asked about the allocation of reserved seats to the BAP party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the previous elections. The lawyer responded that the allocation was not in accordance with the law and there had been no hearing on the issue.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also filed an application to join the case.
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan in his arguments, stressed that some seats were reserved to ensure women’s participation in politics. He emphasised that only political parties with proportional representation could be allocated reserved seats. Later the court adjourned the case for Tuesday.
The reserved seats issue started after the PTI-backed independent candidates emerged victorious in the February 8 elections and later joined the SIC in a bid to claim reserved seats for minorities and women.
However, citing its failure to submit its list of candidates, the ECP denied allocating the reserved seats to the SIC. The party then moved the PHC which upheld the electoral body’s verdict on the matter.
Subsequently, the SIC filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to annul the PHC verdict and the allocation of 67 women and 11 minority seats in the assemblies.
On May 6, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, including Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah, suspended the PHC verdict.
