Pakistan's Supreme Court rules in favour of PTI for being eligible for reserved seats in Parliament

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday (Jul 12) declared Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities in the National Assembly, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.

The verdict was announced by a 13-member bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

PTI-backed candidates, who had contested and won the February 8 elections as independents after their party was stripped of its election symbol, had joined theSunni Ittehad Council(SIC) to form a coalition of convenience.

The top court on Fridayannulled the decision of the Peshawar High Court while also declaring the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan “null and void”, terming it “against the Constitution of Pakistan.”

“[The] withdrawal of election symbol cannot disqualify a political party from elections,” the court declared. “The PTI was and is a political party.”

The decision, announced by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, was made based on a majority of eight judges out of 13.

The court has also recognised the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) as a parliamentary party while recognising its candidates as theirs and acknowledging that their right to contest was obfuscated.

The court has also maintained that those members of assemblies, who did not join the SIC will get a total of 15 days to declare their allegiances and for the party to submit an acceptance as well.

This would, if in case there were no defections, make the PTI the single largest party in the assembly however it would still be short of the magic number of 169 to topple or attain the government.

The government coalition would continue to enjoy a majority in the assembly. However, this verdict can cause unease among the coalition partners as it would allow them to flex their muscles more.