Supreme Court judge Justice Yahya Afridi on Monday said that PTI is an eligible party for reserved seats, being a legitimate political party, whereas the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) fails to meet the necessary constitutional criteria.
In a dissenting note on the Supreme Court’s decision regarding reserved seats, he called on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to re-evaluate the notification concerning reserved seats.
He pointed out that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had not initially become a party in the court proceedings, as no formal application was submitted by them at the time.
Justice Afridi highlighted that PTI only requested to be included as a party on June 26, with Barrister Gohar seeking to assist in the ongoing case.
However, PTI did not explicitly ask for any declarations in their favor. Therefore, Justice Afridi emphasized the need for the Election Commission to reconsider the notification related to the reserved seats.
Furthermore, Justice Afridi addressed the role of the Sunni Ittehad Council in the case, stating that the Council does not meet the constitutional requirements to qualify for reserved seats. As a result, their applications were rejected. In contrast, Justice Afridi recognized PTI as a legitimate political party eligible for the reserved seats, underlining that it meets the necessary criteria.
