Reserved seats case: SC says ECP’s clarification plea ‘obstructs’ implementation of court decision

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Saturday stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s request for clarification in the reserved seats case verdict is merely a delaying tactic and obstructs the implementation of its judicial decision.

Moreover, the top court ordered the immediate implementation of its original directions, noting that the application filed by the electoral body was ‘misconceived’. “ECP itself recognized Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” SC maintained.

On July 12, a full-member bench of the Supreme Court declared the opposition party PTI eligible for reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies and Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission verdict as null and void.

The bench comprises Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A Malik, Athar Minallah, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, and Irfan Saadat Khan issued the order on the election commission’s plea seeking the clarification from the top court on its verdict in the reserved seats case.

In a four-page decision, the eight-member Supreme Court bench stated, “The clarification sought by the Commission is nothing more than a contrived device and the adoption of dilatory tactics, adopted to delay, defeat, and obstruct the implementation of the decision of the Court.”

“The Commission cannot approbate and reprobate, taking whatever (shifting) stance as it desires and as may seem to suit its immediate purposes for the moment,” the written order from the top court wrote.