ISLAMABAD: Following the Supreme Court’s verdict on reserved seats, independent members have begun submitting their affidavits of allegiance to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
A Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-119 Lahore, Mian Muhammad Azhar, submitted his affidavit of allegiance to PTI on Sunday. Mian Muhammad Azhar served as Punjab governor in the former Nawaz League’s regime, while his son served as a minister in the last PTI regime.
Members of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab (MPAs) Sardar Muhammad Ali Khan and Syed Ijaz Hussain Bhatti have also submitted their affidavits of allegiance to PTI.
On July 12, in a significant legal victory for PTI, the Supreme Court declared that PTI was eligible for reserved seats and overturned the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) denying Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) allocation of reserved seats.
Striking down the ECP’s decision to allocate reserved seats to the ruling coalition as “unconstitutional,” the 13-judge full court pronounced the majority verdict with an 8-5 vote, also declaring as null and void ECP’s notification regarding reserved seats.
“As a political party, the PTI is entitled to its reserved seats,” said Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa while reading out the order, which was supported by eight judges and opposed by five of the 13-member full court bench.
Supreme Court’s Senior Puisne Judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah read the 8-5 majority verdict, nullifying the Peshawar High Court and ECP’s order, denying allocation of seats reserved for women and minorities to the SIC.
The apex court reserved the verdict on the SIC’s appeals on Tuesday after conducting nine hearings on the SIC’s appeals, during which all parties, including the federal government and the ECP, presented their arguments against the SIC’s plea.
The apex court remarked that the PTI was eligible for reserved seats. “The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was a political party and remains a political party,” the Supreme Court order said while instructing the PTI to submit a list of its reserved seats candidates within 15 days.
