Islamabad, October 9, 2025: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued updated party positions for the National and provincial assemblies, declaring all lawmakers previously affiliated with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) as independents.
According to an official notification released on Thursday, the ECP stated that all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed legislators — who had joined the SIC earlier this year — would now be treated as independent members in the assemblies.
The move comes in compliance with the Supreme Court’s August 25, 2025 verdict, which ruled that PTI-backed candidates could not claim reserved seats under the SIC banner. Following the judgment, the ECP formally de-notified the SIC’s collective representation in the assemblies, effectively ending its parliamentary status.
“As per the revised composition, all members previously associated with the PTI and SIC in the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh have been categorized as independents,” the notification read.
Officials described the decision as a significant development in the political landscape, as the updated assembly rosters no longer reflect any affiliation between PTI-backed lawmakers and the SIC.
The change is expected to have far-reaching implications for parliamentary alignments, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where PTI-supported independents hold a majority, as well as in the National Assembly, where alliances and seat calculations could be reshaped ahead of upcoming legislative sessions.
Political observers say the reclassification of PTI-backed lawmakers as independents may lead to new coalition negotiations and further uncertainty over parliamentary dynamics in the weeks ahead.
