Reserved seats: Court asks for more arguments

Advocate Malik argued that the filling of minority seats through proportional representation is unconstitutional.

LAHORE: Justice Ijazul Ahsan of the Lahore High Court on Thursday directed a petitioner challenging the nomination of women and minority members to reserved seats in the provincial and national assemblies to present more arguments in support of his claim and then put off the hearing till Friday (today). Advocate Tariq Aziz Malik argued that the filling of minority seats through proportional representation was illegal and unconstitutional, as Article 226 of the Constitution stated that all elections should be held by secret ballot. He asked the court to declare the nomination of members to minority seats unconstitutional. In response, a deputy director general submitted that Article 51 provided for the filling of reserved seats. In the presence of Article 51, Article 226 had no value. He said it was up to the court to establish harmony among the various articles of the Constitution.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2013.