Supreme Court verdict deprived PTI of reserved seats 

Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has nullified Justice Mansoor Ali Shah’s earlier decision to grant reserved seats to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The court ruled that PTI will not receive any reserved seats, which will now be distributed amongst PML-N, PPP, and other parties. Justice Aminuddin Khan announced the majority verdict in the reserved seats review case, which had been reserved earlier.

Majority & Dissenting Judges

Majority decision: Justices Aminuddin Khan, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Musarrat Hilali, Shahid Bilal, Aamer Farooq, Ali Baqar Najafi, and Hashim Kakar.

Dissenting opinion: Justices Jamal Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi.

Justices Mazhar and Rizvi also suggested the Election Commission re-evaluate nomination papers.

Bench Changes & Legal Arguments

Justice Salahuddin Panhwar recused himself after Advocate Hamid Khan raised an objection over perceived bias. The bench resumed with 10 judges.

Advocate Hamid Khan argued that a review must be heard by at least the same number of judges (13) as the original ruling.

In contrast, government lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan contended that even if a judge recuses, the remaining judges still constitute a valid full bench.

The court rejected objections to the bench’s composition and proceeded with the 10-member bench.