The Peshawar High Court has temporarily stopped newly selected members on reserved seats from taking their oath in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. This decision came after a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), which challenged the recent allocation of reserved seats by the Election Commission.
A two-member bench, consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal, heard the case. PTI-P’s lawyer, Advocate Sultan Muhammad Khan, argued that the party was unfairly given only one women’s reserved seat despite winning two general seats. He claimed PTI-P was entitled to two women’s seats and one minority seat.
The court questioned whether PTI-P had submitted its priority list for reserved seats, to which the counsel responded affirmatively. He insisted that the allocation was miscalculated, and therefore, the oath-taking process must be paused until the matter is resolved. Responding to the petition, the court issued notices to the Election Commission and ordered a halt to any oath-taking on the disputed seats.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is not entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities in both national and provincial assemblies. The constitutional bench overturned a previous ruling from July 12, 2024, in a 7-3 majority decision, effectively restoring the verdict of the Peshawar High Court.
The short order revealed that although the original bench included 13 judges, two—Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi—dismissed the review petitions early on. The majority of the remaining judges allowed the review petitions, setting aside the earlier judgment and dismissing the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) appeal.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, the SIC has requested that the court release a signed “Order of the Court” from all 12 judges involved. The legal battle continues to unfold, with significant political implications for the composition of future assemblies.