Imran Khan’s PTI Wins Big in Pakistan’s Supreme Court Ruling
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, is set to become the largest party in the National Assembly. This comes after a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which declared PTI eligible for reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies.
The Supreme Court’s decision, delivered by a 13-member bench in an 8-5 ruling, overturned a previous decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Peshawar High Court (PHC). The court found the ECP’s decision to deny PTI reserved seats as unconstitutional.
Initially, PTI candidates were barred from contesting the elections under their party symbol due to alleged electoral law violations. As a result, they ran as independents and won 93 seats in the National Assembly, surpassing other parties. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came second with 75 seats, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) secured third place with 54 seats.
Following the elections, PTI-backed candidates aligned with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to form a coalition. The SIC had approached the ECP for reserved seats, but the request was denied. The Supreme Court’s ruling now allows PTI to claim these seats, significantly impacting the ruling coalition government.
PTI members celebrated the decision, with former KP finance minister Taimur Khan Jhagra congratulating Imran Khan and PTI supporters. He stated, “We are on the right side of history, as difficult as that may be. The fight will go on.”
