Islamabad, October 2, 2025: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has issued a detailed judgment approving review petitions in the case concerning reserved seats, reversing earlier relief granted to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to the verdict, the case was originally brought before the Court by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) under Article 185 of the Constitution. The Court observed that the “power of complete justice” could only have been exercised if PTI had been a party to the proceedings. No PTI application regarding reserved seats was pending before the Court at the time.
The judgment noted seven undisputed facts in the case. It recalled that SIC’s appeals were dismissed unanimously in the main ruling, on the ground that the party was not entitled to reserved seats. However, PTI — despite not being a party — received relief through that judgment.
The Court clarified that PTI could have joined the review proceedings but chose not to. “The party did not appear at any stage of the case, and the relief extended to it earlier cannot be sustained,” the judgment stated.
The ruling further emphasized that the SCP never barred PTI from contesting elections. It added that none of the independent candidates had declared themselves PTI nominees or claimed entitlement to reserved seats.
The Court also found fault with the manner in which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) allocated reserved seats. In the original judgment, other political parties were de-seated without being heard, which the Court declared “contrary to the principles of law and justice.”
As a result, members earlier declared successful on reserved seats have been removed, restoring allocations to the relevant parties.
