ISLAMABAD, Jul 12 (DNA):A 13-member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as eligible for the reserved seats for women and minorities. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict of the bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The court annulled the decision of Peshawar High Court (PHC) that upheld the order of Election Commission of Pakistan denying the reserved seats to PTI.
Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Syed Hassan Rizvi, and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan favored the judgment.
In its ruling, the court said the denial of election symbol doesn’t affect the Constitution or the legal right of a political party to participate in an election and to field candidates. The commission is under a constitutional duty to apply all statutory provisions accordingly.
The court ruled that the PTI can provide the list of its candidates for reserved seats within 15 days.
