PML-N files review petition in SC against reserved seats judgment

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the judgment in the reserved seats case.

In the petition, the PML-N appealed to the SC to issue a stay order against July 12 verdict.

Eleven parties, including the Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have been made the parties in the petition.

On July 12, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had annulled the verdict of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Peshawar High Court (PHC), declaring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities.

The verdict was announced by a majority 8-5. According to the verdict authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the ECP judgment is against the constitution. “The PTI was a political party and still it is a political party. Denial of the election symbol does not bar any party from contesting the elections. The withdrawal of the election symbol cannot stop a political party from contesting the elections,” it ruled.

The verdict stated that the ECP had wrongly interpreted the judgment of the SC. The court asked the PTI parliamentarians to submit an affidavit of the PTI within 15 days. It ordered the PTI to provide a list to the ECP for reserved seats.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Syed Hassan Rizvi and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan favoured the judgment. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhel, Justice Naeem Afghan and Justice Aminudddin Khan opposed the verdict.