Imran Khan's PTI Resurrected with Supreme Court's Reserved Seats Ruling

In a significant victory for Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has notified 93 provincial lawmakers as PTI members, following the Supreme Court's ruling on reserved seats. This development positions PTI as the largest party in the national assembly.

In a major comeback for Imran Khan and his embattled party, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has officially recognized 93 lawmakers from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh assemblies as members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), following an order from the Supreme Court in a reserved seats case, according to Geo News.

This development, which positions PTI as the largest party in the national assembly, comes shortly after the election watchdog declared 39 PTI lawmakers from the National Assembly as affiliated with the party. These 93 provincial assembly members and 39 National Assembly members had declared their affiliation with PTI in documents submitted to the election commission ahead of the general elections.

Earlier, on Monday, the ECP published a notification on its website, identifying 29 PTI lawmakers from the Punjab assembly, 58 from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly, and six from provincial assemblies in Sindh as PTI members. On July 25, the election regulator sought guidance from the Supreme Court on legal and constitutional aspects regarding the status of PTI lawmakers in national and provincial assemblies.

The ECP, in its civil miscellaneous application, expressed difficulty in implementing the top court's ruling on reserved seats, citing that PTI had no organizational structure to confirm statements from its MNAs and MPAs. However, in a major victory for the party, the Supreme Court ruled on July 12 that PTI is eligible for reserved seats for women and minorities in both national and provincial assemblies.

The PTI members had contested the February 8 elections as independent candidates and joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) on party instructions to qualify for reserved seats. Independent candidates are not legally permitted to receive reserved seats. The Supreme Court's decision comes after the ECP had deprived PTI of its iconic 'bat' symbol and denied it reserved seats, a verdict upheld by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) due to the party's failure to submit candidate lists in time.

Overturning the ECP's verdict, the apex court affirmed on July 12 that PTI was and remains a political party that won general seats in the February 8 elections, entitling it to reserved seats. With PTI on the verge of becoming the largest party in the assemblies, ruling coalition partners Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) filed a review petition against the reserved seats ruling.

(With inputs from agencies.)