After the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), its coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has also filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision to grant reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Farooq H. Naek filed the plea on behalf of the PPP, seeking to overturn the Supreme Court’s July 12 verdict regarding reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.
The PPP’s appeal argues that the PTI should not be granted these reserved seats, claiming the former ruling party had not shown any entitlement to them.
The PML-N had already filed a similar review petition on July 15, questioning whether the Supreme Court should grant the reserved seats.
This decision has paved the way for the PTI’s return to parliament, after being excluded from the February 8 polls due to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) December 2023 ruling. This change has increased pressure on the coalition alliance by altering the composition of the National Assembly.
The 8-5 majority verdict stated that the lack or denial of an election symbol does not affect a political party’s constitutional or legal rights to participate in an election and field candidates. The commission is under a constitutional duty to apply all statutory provisions accordingly.