Islamabad, Pakistan – The Justice Muneer theory dumped by the Supreme Court has delivered a significant legal triumph to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, affirming its eligibility for reserved seats in both national and provincial assemblies.
The ruling, delivered on Friday by a 13-member bench in an 8-5 decision, represents a notable defeat for the coalition government. The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) brought the case forward after the February 8 general election, involving PTI-backed candidates who had to run as independents because the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) banned the use of PTI’s electoral symbol, a cricket bat, following violations of electoral laws.
Despite these challenges, PTI candidates ran as independents and secured 93 seats in the National Assembly, surpassing all other parties. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) followed with 75 seats, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) secured 54 seats.
Imprisoned since August on criminal charges, Khan refused to cooperate with his political adversaries. This led the PMLN and PPP to establish a coalition government with smaller parties.
Pakistani law stipulates that voters elect 266 National Assembly seats during the general election, with political parties receiving an additional 70 reserved seats (60 for women and 10 for minorities) based on their performance. To form a government, lawmakers need a simple majority of 169 seats, while they require a two-thirds majority of 224 votes to pass constitutional amendments.
Justice Muneer’s theory dumped by the Supreme Court
In its brief order, the Supreme Court acknowledged PTI as a legitimate political party and ruled that the absence of an election symbol does not infringe on a party’s legal rights to field candidates. “PTI was and is a political party, which secured general seats in the national and provincial assemblies in the general elections of 2024,” the verdict stated.
The court instructed PTI to submit its list of candidates for reserved seats within two weeks, and PTI-backed candidates who joined SIC(Sunni Ittehad Council) must submit affidavits declaring their political affiliation within the same period. Currently, SIC (Sunni Ittehad Council) holds 86 seats in the National Assembly, while four PTI-backed candidates remain independents. The national legislature is set to allocate PTI just over 20 reserved seats following the verdict.
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PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan and other party officials hailed the Supreme Court’s decision as a victory for the rule of law.
“The government will no longer have a two-thirds majority in the assembly. This means any constitutional amendments and laws they planned to present cannot pass smoothly without PTI’s support.”
