ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa released a detailed minority verdict in the reserved seats case on Tuesday.
He expressed hope that the majority judges would reflect on their ‘mistakes’ and make necessary corrections regarding the recent verdict on reserved seats, stating that the judgment lacked a fundamental understanding of the issues at hand.
In his dissenting note, he urged his colleagues to ensure that Pakistan is governed in line with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This comes after a full-court bench of the Supreme Court, in July, overturned the Peshawar High Court’s and Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decisions to withdraw reserved seats from the Sunni Ittehad Council, ruling instead that Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party should be recognized and granted reserved seats.
The ECP had sought clarification from the Supreme Court regarding who would confirm the political affiliation of candidates returned as MNAs and MPAs on behalf of the PTI, given that the party lacked a valid organizational structure.
In a September clarification, the Supreme Court dismissed the ECP’s petition, describing it as a “delaying tactic” and noted that failure to comply with the court’s order could have consequences. The apex court emphasized that denying recognition to a major political party infringes upon the rights of the electorate.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court reiterated that amendments to election laws cannot invalidate its ruling on reserved seats. In his 14-page dissent, CJP Isa criticized the majority’s decision to operate as a “virtual court,” allowing the ECP and PTI to present applications solely before them, which he argued effectively amounted to legislative action—something neither the Constitution nor law permits.
He stated, “The majority’s judgment, with respect, lost sight of the basics,” cautioning against interpreting Pakistan’s Constitution through the lens of another country’s legal framework. He stressed that the provisions of the Pakistani Constitution are clear and should not be misinterpreted.
Background
In the February general elections, members of the PTI were compelled to run as independents due to a Supreme Court ruling that deemed the party’s internal elections flawed. Consequently, they could not use the PTI’s cricket bat symbol during their campaigns. Despite this, PTI-backed candidates secured the most seats in the National Assembly and later aligned with the religiopolitical party, the SIC, to obtain reserved seats.
Reserved seats are allocated to political parties based on their share of general seats to promote better representation of underrepresented groups in government. The ECP ultimately chose not to allocate these seats to the PTI on “technical grounds” and redistributed the SIC’s share among other parties.
