Tarar concerned over delay in release of verdict

LAHORE: In the ongoing issue involving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) regarding reserved seats, the federal government has raised concerns about the delay in the release of the Supreme Court’s detailed verdict from its July 12 ruling. They have also called for a discussion on the dissenting opinion of two judges.

“The detailed verdict [of the July 12 decision] hasn’t been issued even after 15 days,” said Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar while addressing the media in Lahore on Sunday.

Tarar’s comments pertain to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which declared PTI eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities in the assemblies, overturning previous decisions by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

This ruling not only facilitated the return of the PTI, founded by Imran Khan, to the parliament but also deprived the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government of its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.

Following the court’s decision, the ECP has notified 39 out of 80 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) as PTI members, along with 93 lawmakers in the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh assemblies as “returned candidates” of the former ruling party.

However, the PML-N and its key ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), have filed review petitions against the full court’s 8-5 majority decision.

In its review petition, the PML-N questioned whether reserved seats could be granted to a political party that had not submitted a party list within the prescribed time, whether a political party can be given reserved seats whose candidates had not filed nomination papers within the time provided by the ECP, and if independents could join a political party that did not win a single general seat in parliament.

Meanwhile, the PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto, argued that the PTI is not entitled to the reserved seats as it didn’t claim them initially.

Referring to the 29-page dissenting note by Justices Amin-Ud-Din Khan and Naeem Akhtar Afghan, who were part of the full court bench, Tarar emphasized that the issues raised in the note should be thoroughly discussed.

“It’s imperative that the points raised by the [two] judges are [duly] answered,” said the minister.

The dissenting judges noted that the SIC did not contest the February 8 nationwide polls as a political party, and its chairman had participated as an independent candidate. They argued that to grant relief to the PTI, the court would have to exceed its jurisdiction under Articles 175 and 185 of the Constitution and suspend Articles 51, 106, and 63 of the Constitution, along with Section 104 of the Elections Act, 2017, and the relevant rules.

Building on the judges’ dissent, the information minister questioned whether the Supreme Court’s ruling would be used to justify floor crossing and changes in political affiliation.

Tarar argued that the Supreme Court ruling deviated from constitutional provisions and lamented the legal and constitutional ambiguity. He warned that granting one-sided relief could undermine the Constitution and the law of the land.