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The Peshawar High Court (PHC) issued on Wednesday a one-day stay order on the reserved seats decision announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
During the hearing held today, Justices Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Shakeel Ahmad issued the directions. A stay order was given by the court to prohibit members from being sworn in, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was instructed to provide a response by Thursday.
The high court issued a pre-admission notice to the ECP and directed it to submit its response in the case.
Earlier this week, the ECP rejected the SIC’s petition seeking the allocation of reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
The ECP announced the verdict with a 4-1 majority, saying the SIC – the new home to PTI-backed independent candidates – was not entitled to reserved seats. ECP Punjab member Hassan Bharwana wrote a dissent note.
In its ruling, the ECP stated that the SIC could not claim the share in the reserved seats for the women “due to non-curable procedural and legal defects and violations of mandatory provisions of the Constitution”
The reserved seats were awarded to all political parties as per their strength in the assemblies, except the PTI-backed SIC.