ECP issues notification for reserved seats restoration

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a notification regarding the restoration of reserved seats, ARY News reported.

Following the issuance of notification, the membership of previously suspended lawmakers has been restored.

According to the official statement, the ECP has formally reinstated the reserved seats that had earlier been withheld or suspended, effectively restoring the parliamentary status of the affected members.

The move comes in light of recent legal and procedural developments, with the ECP exercising its constitutional authority to ensure representation on the reserved seats is maintained as per electoral mandates.

The SC’s Constitutional Bench on Friday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s plea, seeking reserved seats in the national and all provincial assemblies on the basis of its general seats.

Read more: PTI reacts to SC decision in reserved seats case

The bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, set aside the apex court’s earlier judgment and restored the Peshawar High Court ruling that ruled that the reserved seats would be distributed among other parties.

This includes the restoration of eight women National Assembly members from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 women members on reserved seats Assembly from Punjab as well as three non-Muslim seats.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz secured 14 seats in the National Assembly, while the Pakistan People’s Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl managed to get five and three reserved seats in the lower house.