Islamabad: The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict allocating reserved seats to other parties.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Shah and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah heard the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea challenging the high court’s verdict on reserved seat.
During the hearing, Justice Shah summoned the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) and an ECP representative. Justice Shah observed that the basic principle of democracy and the Constitution is the people’s mandate, which should be reflected in the parliament.
The bench unanimously suspended the decision for the re-allocation of reserved seats to other political parties.
The ECP had rejected the party’s plea depriving it of reserved seats.
On April 1st, the SIC comprising PTI-backed lawmakers challenged the PHC’s March 14 order that deprived the party of reserved seats.
The petition stated that the PTI candidates joined the SIC after their party lost its electoral symbol, adding that the ECP also raised no objections to the above independent returned candidates joining the SIC.
