SC reserves verdict in SIC reserved seats case – M Haris

The Supreme Court’s (SC) full bench led by Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa has reserved its verdict regarding the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) case on reserved seats, requesting to dismiss SIC’s appeal and uphold the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on the matter.

The full court, led by CJP, heard the case. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has already submitted a written response to the apex court, stating that the SIC is no longer entitled to the reserved seats. It reiterated that the SIC’s eligibility was compromised on several grounds.

The court announced that the reserved verdict on the SIC case will be announced after consultation.

Earlier, ECP told the Supreme Court that the SIC’s constitution is violative of articles 17, 20 & 25 of the Constitution and the party is not entitled to any reserved seats for women and in particular for non-Muslims.

The ECP on December 22, 2023, stripped the PTI of its election symbol in view of irregularities in its intra-party polls. The Supreme Court on January 13 upheld the ECP order, forcing the PTI candidates to contest the February 8 general elections as independents.

The independent candidates joined the SIC after the announcement of official election results. The SIC later sought reserved seats in the parliament and provincial assemblies in proportion to its general seats.