THE ruling coalition secured two-thirds majority in the National Assembly on Friday as the Supreme Court (SC) deprived Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of its reserved seats, setting aside last year’s verdict that had declared that the party was entitled to get reserved seats for women and minorities in the National and Provincial Assemblies.
A 10-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, announced a short order in the review petitions, filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) against the reserved seats verdict, delivered last year on 12 July.
Comments offered by prominent jurists indicate the legal community, as usual, is divided on the judgement of the apex court with some describing it as flawed while others hailing it as a much-needed correction to constitutional and electoral norms. The verdict might be technically right but it is essentially being viewed on a partisan basis and political losses and gains of the opposing sides. While the original verdict of the court was criticized on the ground that the top court granted what was not asked in the petition, the latest verdict is seen by some as negation of the spirit of representation in the elected houses. It is, however, clear that the decision is a major setback to the PTI as it dents its numerical strength in legislatures and hands over a clear majority to the coalition partners. The verdict could ultimately lead to political realignments, may be in KP as well and encourage the ruling alliance to go for some constitutional amendments on the basis of newly acquired two-third majority. There are also apprehensions that some elected leaders of the PTI might be disqualified in coming weeks when 09 May cases are slated for verdicts, leaving only the option of street protests for the party.
