SIC moves SC against PHC verdict on reserved seats

ISLAMABAD: The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) on Monday requested the Supreme Court to set aside the verdict of Peshawar High Court (PHC) dismissing its petition, challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling that denied reserved seats to the party.

SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the PHC judgement delivered on March 14.

A five-member PHC bench, headed by Chief Justice Ibrahim Khan, and comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Shakeel Ahmad had dismissed the SIC petition on March 14.

Filed through advocate Faisal Siddiqui, the SIC made the ECP, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and others as respondents.

It prayed the apex court to grant leave to appeal against the PHC judgement and set it aside as well.

The SIC further prayed the apex court to allot it 67 women and 11 minority seats in the National and provincial assemblies.

The petitioner submitted that the ECP had rejected the request to allot the SIC specific seats of the independent candidates supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf under the majority decision on March 1. It was further submitted that the PHC also dismissed the writ petition filed against the ECP decision and declared that the party, which did not participate in the general elections and failed to submit priority list for reserved seats to the ECP as per schedule, cannot get reserved seats.

The petitioner further submitted that the high court has also misinterpreted Section 104 of the Election Act and Rules 92 and 94 of the Election Rules regarding the preferential list.

The SIC contended that according to the Constitution, reserved seats for women and minorities are given to the parties in National and provincial assemblies on the basis of proportional representation and no party can be given more reserved seats than its representation.

“It is unconstitutional to distribute 67 women and 11 minority reserved seats among the PMLN, PPPP, MQM, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and other parties because according to the Constitution, law and election rules, out of 226 seats for women and minorities in National and provincial assemblies, 148 reserved seats were allotted to the parties in proportion to their representation,” the petitioner submitted.

He further submitted that the remaining reserved seats were to go to PTI-backed independent candidates who joined the SIC.

The petitioner submitted that there are 86 SIC members in the National Assembly, 107 in Punjab, 90 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and nine in Sindh Assembly and the remaining specific seats should be given to the SIC in proportion to the representation in the National and provincial assemblies.