Pakistan Bar Council challenges Election Act amendment in Supreme Court

Petition says amendment seeks to overturn SC’s July 12 ruling and is intended to target a specific political party

Members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) have filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging recent amendments to the Election Act.

The petition, submitted by six members of the Bar Council, names the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Ministry of Law, and the federal government among the respondents.

The petitioners argue that the amendment conflicts with various provisions of the Constitution and should be declared void.

They contend that the amendment seeks to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling from July 12 and is intended to target a specific political party. The petition asserts that the amendment poses a threat to the rule of law, judicial independence, and the separation of powers. It also highlights concerns that the retroactive application of the amendment violates multiple Supreme Court decisions.

The petition specifically challenges Section 4 of the amendment, claiming it discriminates against independent candidates and breaches Article 17 of the Constitution.

The bar council has requested the Supreme Court to invalidate the amendment and to issue an order preventing the federal government and the ECP from enforcing it.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the recently approved Election Act Amendment Bill in the National Assembly and requesting it be declared null and void.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan submitted the petition to the top court under Article 184(3) through Advocate Salman Akram Raja, naming the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as respondents.

The petition argues that the bill, which was approved by a majority vote despite strong protests and objections from opposition parties, is "unconstitutional and illegal".

PTI has also moved the apex court to immediately halt the electoral watchdog from allocating reserved seats to other political parties.

"The PTI has already submitted lists for the reserved seats to the Election Commission," the petition stated.

The party demanded that women and non-Muslim reserved seats be allotted to PTI, asserting their entitlement to these seats following the Supreme Court's July 12 decision.