F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has issued a restraining order against the swearing-in of newly selected members on reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies.
The order came during a hearing on a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), where serious objections were raised regarding the allocation of reserved seats by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal heard the case. The bench, after initial arguments, issued notices to the ECP and directed that no oath be administered to the members until the next hearing.
Petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Sultan Muhammad Khan, argued that the ECP had miscalculated the allocation of reserved seats.
Justice Arshad Ali inquired whether PTI-P had submitted a priority list for the reserved seats, to which the lawyer confirmed they had.
Sultan Muhammad Khan contended that PTI-P holds two general seats in the provincial assembly but was allocated only one reserved seat for women.
He further argued that the party is entitled to two more women’s seats and one minority seat. He stressed that PTI did not contest elections as a party, and independent candidates affiliated with it had joined PTI-P post-election, which should be reflected in the reserved seat count.
Justice Arshad Ali remarked, “PTI is in government here, yet they haven’t secured seats here either,” underlining the complexity of party affiliations and post-election alliances.
Following the arguments, the court directed that the oath-taking for the reserved seat members be paused until further orders.
On the other hand, an important meeting was held at the Election Commission headquarters in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.
The legal team briefed the commission on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling regarding the allocation of 76 reserved seats previously withdrawn from PTI.
But the ECP’s meeting today about the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision has ended without taking any final decision. The next ECP meeting will be held tomorrow.
It is pertinent to mention here that, according to the SC decision, these reserved seats are to be reallocated to other political parties.
As per the decision, 21 reserved seats in the National Assembly, including 3 minority seats, will be restored. From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8 women’s seats in the National Assembly will be reinstated, while Punjab will see the return of 10 women’s reserved seats.
In the Punjab Assembly, 24 women and 3 minority seats will be restored, while the Sindh Assembly will reinstate 2 women and 1 minority member. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will see the restoration of 21 women and 4 minority seats.
Party-wise, the National Assembly will reinstate 14 seats for PML-N, 4 for PPP, and 3 for JUI-F. Across the National and three provincial assemblies, PML-N will recover the most seats—44 in total.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will see the reinstatement of 10 seats for JUI-F, 7 for PML-N, 6 for PPP, and one each for ANP and PTI-P. In the Punjab Assembly, 23 seats will go to PML-N, 2 to PPP, and one each to PML-Q and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party.
From Sindh, MQM will regain one seat and PPP two. Nationwide, JUI-F will reclaim 13 seats, PPP 14, MQM 1, and one seat each will go to IPP, PML-Q, ANP, and PTI-P.
