AGP submits written arguments to Supreme Court in SIC reserved seats case

Argues council was not a parliamentary party during reserved seat allocation, making its demand unconstitutional

ISLAMABAD:

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan submitted written arguments to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday regarding the Sunni Ittehad Council's (SIC) case on reserved seats, requesting to dismiss SIC’s appeal and uphold the verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on the matter.

He stated, “A political party that participates in elections and wins at least one seat can obtain reserved seats. According to the law, a list must be provided to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for certain seats.”

The SIC neither participated in the elections nor submitted the list for the specific seats, “which are only reserved for minorities and women,” he added.

The AGP also mentioned that independent candidates could join political parties that have representation in the Parliament. He argued that the SIC was not a parliamentary party at the time of the allocation of reserved seats, and its demand for such seats was unconstitutional.

The AGP maintained that Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had submitted their lists before the elections, ensuring that their voters were aware of the reserved seats beforehand.