ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved the decision on the petitions filed by the Sunni Itthad Council (SIC) seeking the allocation of minority and women seats, local media reported on Wednesday.
A five-member bench, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the case today. The ECP took up the request following President Arif Alvi rejected to sign a Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs summary seeking the convening of the session of the National Assembly.
President Arif Alvi said that the remaining reserved seats should also be allocated before summoning the National Assembly session which was supposed to be held within twenty-one days of the polls under the Constitution.
In the previous hearing, Chief Election Commissioner consolidated all the petitions filed by SIC, MQM-P, PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N).
MQM-P’s lawyer Advocate Farogh Naseem, SIC’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar, PPP’s Advocate Farooq H Naek and PML-N’s Azam Nazeer Tarar appeared before the bench of the ECP.
Barrister Zafar has presented his arguments saying that 86 independent candidates, who won the National Assembly seats, have joined the SIC. A political party has the right to set up a government and also contest the polls and SIC is a political party which is registered and has an electoral symbol. He added that SIC has also the right to set up a government if independent candidates join the political party. At this, a member of the commission stated that SIC did not contest the February 8 polls in the country.
