Fazalur Rehman reacts to SC's verdict in reserved seats case

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman reacted to the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan’s decision declaring, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) baked Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) eligible for reserved seats, ARY News reported.

In a statement issued here, Maulana Fazalur Rehman said that only constitutional and legal experts could give an opinion on the decision.

“The JUI-F partially accepts the SC’s decision and expresses goodwill towards the PTI,” he added.

Maulana Fazalur Rehman hoped that this would improve relations between the two parties and be beneficial. He said that it would be helpful in creating an environment for negotiations to address reservations between the PTI and JUI-F.

The JUI-F chief said that his party, which would lose reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, is not going to file a review appeal in the apex court.

Earlier in the day, the SC overturned the denial of reserved seats to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict on a petition filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), an ally of the PTI.

Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Shahid Waheed, Muneeb Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar Ayesha Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Irfan Saadat Khan ruled in favour of the PTI.

The top court nullified the Peshawar High Court’s order wherein it had upheld the ECP’s decision denying the reserved seats to the SIC.

n its order, the apex court said that the Election Commission of Pakistan ECP’s decision of allocating reserved seats to the ruling coalition was unconstitutional.

The bench accepted SIC’s petition and ruled that the party is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats. The apex court accepted PTI as political party and asked Imran Khan-led party to submit reserved seats candidates list to ECP within 15 days.