PHC Dismisses Petition Of SIC Seeking Reserved Seats

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Mar, 2024) The Peshawar High Court here Thursday dismissed the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling that denied reserved seats to the party.

The five-member bench of PHC led by Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Arshad Ali dismissed the SIC petitions.

Earlier, during his arguments, SIC's lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar said the Constitution does not mention when a party has to submit a list of Names for reserved seats to the ECP.

He argued that it is not written anywhere that a person cannot resubmit the list or when it has to be submitted, adding that there is no restriction on providing a second list and that the ECP could have issued a second schedule, as it did for the general elections.

Justice Ijaz Anwar remarked that as per the law, those who participate in elections will get seats.

The court then questioned Barrister Zafar if it was not clearly stated anywhere that the second schedule could not be issued. "The law does not prevent the Election Commission from issuing another schedule," the lawyer responded.

Justice Arshad Ali remarked that Section 104 explains the mechanism for reserved seats as it states that when a list is submitted then another list can be given.

"Section 104 says that if a political party participates in an election, it will give a list," the lawyer argued.

He earlier argued that whoever wins the number of seats, gets reserved seats in the same proportion and their seats cannot be increased.

On March 4, ECP accepted applications of the opposing parties and decided that the seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies would not remain vacant and would be allocated by a proportional representation process of political parties based on seats won by political parties.

APP/fam/