Justice Yahya Afridi recently instructed the electoral commission to handle the issue of independent candidates entering the Sunni Ittehad Council in a separate order pertaining to the distribution of reserved seats by the Supreme Court.
It was highlighted by Justice Afridi that all candidates for the national and provincial assembly who turned in an affiliation confirmation certificate and an affidavit will be counted as PTI candidates. The PTI will so be allotted seats designated for women and non-Muslims in the same proportion.
Based on this ruling, Judge Afridi instructed the electoral commission to assign seats to the parties in the national and provincial assemblies for women and non-Muslims.
He voiced grave concerns about the electoral commission’s deeds and omissions, notwithstanding the fact that these deeds were not contested in the judicial appeals.
Disagreeing with the majority ruling, Justices Aminuddin Khan and Naeem Akhtar Afghan provided separate notes expressing their disagreement.
Overturning appeals, petitions, and other miscellaneous applications, Justice Khan maintained the Peshawar High Court’s ruling. Like Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Naeem Akhtar upheld the ruling of the Peshawar High Court, rejecting all further applications.
After a ruling by the Supreme Court that was characterised by dissent among the justices, the Election Commission is now tasked with carrying out the reserved seat allocation as instructed, making sure that PTI gets its fair number of seats for women and non-Muslims according to verified affiliations.
