ISLAMABAD:  Pakistan’s top court resumed hearing a significant political case today, Monday, involving petitions that challenge the denial of reserved seats in parliament to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), a party backed by the country’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

These seats for women and minorities in Pakistan’s national and provincial legislatures, constitutionally reserved for greater political inclusion, are allocated to various political factions on a proportional basis after considering the number of general seats won by them during elections.

Leaders from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were compelled to contest the national polls in February as independent candidates after being deprived of their party symbol, the cricket bat, by the Supreme Court of Pakistan due to internal elections deemed flawed.

The PTI-backed independent candidates won the maximum number of seats, emerging as the single largest bloc in the National Assembly, but chose to join the SIC in the absence of their original party identity. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided not to allocate the reserved seats to them on technical grounds, instead distributing the SIC’s share among other parties.

SIC counsel Faisal Siddiqui presented his arguments before a 13-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Monday. Justice Isa remarked during the hearing that despite the ECP’s decision to strip it off its iconic bat symbol, the PTI continued to remain a registered party even then. 

“PTI continued to exist [as a political party] after the decision, continues to exist today,” Justice Isa said, wondering why independent candidates did not join the PTI, and then put forth the demand for reserved seats. 

“Didn’t you (PTI) commit suicide yourself,” Justice Isa asked Siddiqui, referring to the PTI. “You could have simply said we want to join PTI. End of story.”

When Siddiqui promptly said no, Justice Isa informed him that he had a “great conflict of interest” in the case and he should make clear to the court whether he was representing the SIC or the PTI, which were two separate entities.

The outcome of the case can be politically significant since it may impact the National Assembly’s composition, influencing how legislations are passed and the government functions.
Khan’s party says it is hopeful of winning 78 reserved seats in parliament given to the rival parties after the elections.

Khan, has been in jail since August 2023 after being convicted by a local court on corruption charges, accused the ECP of stripping the PTI of the bat symbol in its bid to keep the party from winning the polls. The Pakistani election regulator has denied the party’s allegations.