ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Friday that the ruling coalition’s wish to change the constitution as per its wishes has been blocked by the Supreme Court ruling.
In a majority verdict, the Supreme Court declared that the PTI was a political party and was entitled to the reserved seats denied by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The regulation effectively deprived the government of the two-thirds majority in parliament necessary to amend the constitution.
Addressing the media after the Supreme Court announced its verdict, the lawyer said the decision announced by the court today is based on truth.
“It’s a happy day for 25 million people, for democratic forces,” he said.
He further claimed that 11 judges of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the PTI, adding that the verdict blocked the attempt to amend the Constitution.
Gohar explained that based on the appeal, which was allowed by a margin of 8 to 5, the seats would be returned to the PTI.
During the press conference, the PTI chief was accompanied by Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chairman Hamid Raza and party leaders Shibli Faraz and Salman Akram Raja, who also spoke to the media.
What happened in SC today?
PTI is back as a party in Parliament as the Supreme Court ruled that “PTI was and is a political party that secured general seats in the National and Provincial Assemblies in the 2024 general elections”.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict supported by Justices Athar Minallah, Shahid Waheed, Muneeb Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar Ayesha Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Irfan Saadat Khan.
The PTI candidates did not contest the polls on a single symbol, forcing them to ally with the SIC, but this could not win the party reserved seats as the ECP decided against them.
The court further stated that the absence or denial of an election symbol in no way affects the constitutional or statutory rights of a political party to participate in elections, whether general or by-election, and to field candidates and that the commission is subject to the Constitutional duty to apply all statutory provisions accordingly.
During the proceedings, some lawyers noted that the apex court had not ruled that the PTI could not contest the general elections as a political party and that the commission had misinterpreted the apex court’s verdict.
According to the judgment, the March 25 judgment of the PHC is set aside.
“The March 1 order of the ECP is declared ultra vires the Constitution, without statutory authority and without legal effect,” it said.
