Govt stands firm after PTI seeks ‘rightful share’ in NA

• Gohar says SC observation on ECP vindicates party’s stance, announces public rally in Pindi on Sept 28
• Tarar insists amended Elections Act 2017 still in field, says review pleas all the more important after detailed verdict
ISLAMABAD: As a joyous PTI on Monday demanded the allocation of reserved seats in the wake of the Supreme Court’s detailed judgement, the federal government continued to rely on recent amendments to the Elections Act 2017 to insist it was no longer possible to “turn back the clock” on the status of lawmakers.
Speaking to reporters, PTI Cha­­irman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that through the deta­iled jud­g­e­ment in the reserved seats case the SC had strengthened democracy.
He said the apex court had made it clear that candidates nominated by parties and those who get votes in the name of the party would be considered the party’s representatives.
“The [court’s] observation regarding Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is the same that we have been saying all along. We have time and again said that ECP has become a tool of the government and has been filing case after case against PTI. Today the court has also made it clear that the candidates in question are of PTI. We urge the ECP to notify 38 MNAs as members of PTI. Our candidates’ affidavits are already filed with the ECP,” he said.
Barrister Khan said that res­erved seats should be allocated to the PTI proportionally on the basis of the number of its general seats, adding that the party had the right to these seats.
He said it was unfortunate that the Senate elections could not be held [in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] because of the ECP. He said efforts were being made to do legislation to pressurise the judges and transfer them to other courts.
He said that as per the directions of the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan, PTI would hold a public meeting in Rawalpindi on Sept 28, adding that an application has already been submitted with the district administration in this regard.
PTI leader Raoof Hasan said the public meeting would be held at Liaquat Bagh.
Govt unfazed
On the other hand, the federal government once again ruled out the reallocation of 80 MNAs of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to the PTI, indicating its position on the issue stays unchanged even after the SC’s detailed verdict, Dawn.com reported.
Addressing a presser, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the recent amendments in the Elections Act were still in field and thus, as per the law, it was not possible to “reverse the clock” regarding the status of lawmakers.
He said various prior court verdicts maintained that parliament’s right to legislation would have greater priority over the apex court’s verdicts.
He said review petitions against the reserved seats’ verdict were still valid and had gained even more importance after the detailed verdict.
“All judges in the court are equal and seniority does not weigh on decisions … difference is the beauty of debate and logic, whenever we look at something in depth…different opinions emerge and something better is found,” he added.
The minister said the issue on the constitutional and legal plane was that the list of lawmakers to be allocated had to be decided as per the law, no matter what the detailed verdict said. He added that the recent Elections Act amendments were now a part of the law.
“In their presence, how these seats are to be allocated and what is the way for that law to be overruled, these are all the questions to which the answers are not in this detailed verdict.”
Mr Tarar said the court’s interpretation should not go to the extent of “changing the plain letter of the law and Constitution”.
Regarding the future after the verdict, he said: “The uncertainty is still there. As per the country’s law, those considered independent lawmakers cannot leave the SIC since their action is irreversible.”
He said keeping in mind the relevant provisions of the law, the seats could not be given to the PTI. “The court’s verdict is otherwise. It seems to me there is a need for a further round of litigation.”
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024