SIC not entitled to reserved seats, AGP tells PHC

PESHAWAR/LAHORE: A larger bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday adjourned the hearing into the writ petitions filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) against the denial of national and provincial assemblies’ seats reserved for women and minorities.

A five-member bench comprising Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice S M Attique Shah, Justice Shakil Ahmad and Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the petition.

Qazi Muhammad Anwar and Intizar Hussain Panjhota appeared for the petitioner.

Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah, KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel and Additional Advocate General Danyal Asad Chamkani represented the state. Sikandar Bashir Mohmand defended the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Farooq H Naik represented the Pakistan Peoples Party, Barrister Haris Azmat Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) and Barrister Kamran Murtaza Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF) in the case, while Qazi Jawad, Aamir Javed, Tariq Afridi and Lajbar Khan represented the newly elected members of the assemblies.

When the court started the hearing, Qazi Anwar submitted that Barrister Ali Zafar and Babar Awan were arriving for the arguments and were near Peshawar.

Qazi Anwar argued that the PHC had restored the bat symbol to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) but the verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He added that the bat symbol was thus taken from the PTI and all the party candidates for the general elections were considered independents. He said the candidates were required to join a party following the notification of victory issued after the elections. Hence the independently elected candidates joined the SIC.

The PHC chief justice asked the lawyer if any SIC member had won the elections and he replied in the negative. Justice Syed Arshad Ali said even the SIC chairman took part in the elections as an independent. The court asked if Barrister Ali Zafar and Babar Awan would make arguments, Qazi Anwar said he did not know but added they were ready for arguments till the previous night.

Another SIC lawyer told the court that Barrister Ali Zafar had been summoned in a case at the Adiala Jail and Babar Awan was busy elsewhere. This angered the court. Qazi Anwar, however, requested the court to adjourn the hearing till the next day as he was not prepared for the case as Ali Zafar was supposed to argue it.

The court asked the attorney general to make arguments. He submitted that the SIC had not submitted any list for the reserved seats to the ECP before the elections. He said a party was eligible for the reserved seats only if it had contested the elections by fielding its candidates. He said the SIC had not fielded its own candidates and even its chairman contested the general elections as an independent.

The AG said a party could give more names for reserved seats if it won a higher number of seats in the general elections. But it could not claim that after not submitting the lists by the due date.

The court asked if these seats could be allotted to other political parties. The AG said the parliament would be incomplete if these seats were not allotted. He said the seats were for the province and the entire country, insisting that women and minorities could not be denied the right to representation. He said the ECP had the right to allot these seats to other parties.

Justice Ijaz Anwar asked why the SIC was not being given the reserved seats when the ECP had recognised it as a political party. The AG said political party means a party that had taken part in the general elections and only such a party was eligible for the reserved seats. He said Section 1 of Article 63A of the Constitution was clear on that.

Mansoor Usman Awan said such seats should be allotted as per the Election Act to those parties that had representation in parliament. The ECP lawyer seconded the arguments of AG.

Farooq H Naek said the SIC had not submitted the lists and hence reserved seats were not their right.

Aamir Javed said his clients had taken oath and that the PHC could not hear the case. The petitions by the SIC should be dismissed and the petitioner could move the Election Tribunal if it wanted to pursue the case. The JUIF counsel backed the AG’s arguments. The PMLN lawyer said the PHC could not hear this case and suggested that the petitioner should turn to the Supreme Court or Islamabad High Court. Tariq Afridi and Lajbar Khan, too, sought dismissal of the case.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected the plea of Hamid Raza, head of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), for issuing a stay order in connection with the reserved seats.

The petition filed by Sahibzada Hamid Raza against not giving the reserved seats to them came up for hearing before a single bench of LHC, led by Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal on Wednesday.

The court, while rejecting the plea of the petitioner for issuing a stay order on the new schedule of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on reserved seats, has given time to Punjab and federal governments to file a written reply. The court asked the Advocate General (AG), Punjab, if the Punjab government reply had come in the application.

The counsel for the petitioner Hamid Raza requested the court this matter is of important nature, therefore, a stay order be given on this matter. Justice Chaudhry Iqbal remarked let the reply come and the court would see it.

The AG Punjab requested time be given to them for filing the reply. “Some members have taken oath on reserved seats. We will file the reply to the extent of other seats,” he said.

The court, while adjourning the hearing of the case, rejected the SIC chairman’s plea for granting a stay order on the new schedule of ECP with regard to reserved seats.

On the previous hearing, the LHC had issued a notice to the respondents on the petition filed by the SIC against not allotting the reserved seats to them.