Supreme Court Reverses Reserved Seats Verdict, PTI Loses Allocation to Government Alliance

ISLAMABAD — In a major ruling, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has accepted the review petitions filed against its earlier verdict on reserved seats, overturning its July 12 decision and upholding the Peshawar High Court’s judgment. As a result, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stands deprived of its reserved seats, which will now be transferred to the ruling coalition.

A 10-member constitutional bench led by Justice Aminuddin Khan heard arguments and announced the short order, with a majority of 7-5 agreeing to accept the review petitions. Justice Aminuddin Khan, reading the order, stated that detailed reasons would be released later.

Following this decision, 22 National Assembly and 55 Provincial Assembly reserved seats, previously linked to PTI, will now go to the government alliance, shifting the political balance in their favor.

The verdict comes after months of legal wrangling. Earlier, the Supreme Court had formed a 13-member bench to hear the case, but with recusals and objections, the final bench reduced to 10 judges. Justice Salahuddin Panhwar excused himself at the beginning of the hearing, citing concerns over judicial impartiality.

During proceedings, tensions ran high as lawyer Hamid Khan clashed with Justice Jamal Mandokhail over whether a smaller bench could hear the review. Justice Mandokhail reminded him of Supreme Court rules and cautioned against disrespectful language, emphasizing, “This is the Supreme Court, we will not allow it to become a mockery.”

Hamid Khan argued that precedents required the same or a larger bench to hear review petitions, referencing the Qazi Faez Isa case. However, Justice Mandokhail rejected the argument, stating Parliament’s 26th Amendment was binding until repealed, adding, “Either accept the system or leave law practice.”

Further, Justice Hashim Kakar criticized Hamid Khan for raising allegations against sitting judges and disrupting proceedings, saying, “You turned this courtroom into D-Chowk.”

The Supreme Court’s short order rejected Hamid Khan’s objections to the bench. Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued a conditional approval of the review petitions, referring seat allocation details to the Election Commission for final determination.

The court maintained that independent candidates must join a political party within three days of their election, and questioned if any petition had been filed after notifications to demand reserved seats.

Justice Jamal Mandokhail also expressed regret over the damage to public confidence in the judiciary, noting, “We have expanded our powers too far, and that’s why this situation has arisen.”

With this landmark decision, the Supreme Court restored the Peshawar High Court’s earlier verdict, stripping PTI of all its reserved seats, while handing them over to the government alliance for immediate notification.

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