Apex court’s verdict on PTI reserved seats does not pose any threat to the incumbent coalition govt: Azam Nazeer Tarar

ISLAMABAD, July 12 (SABAH): Minister for Law and Justice Senator Chaudhry Azam Nazeer Tarar Advocate said that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) reserved seats does not pose any threat to the incumbent coalition government.

“We still have a majority of 209 members and the verdict has not been completed yet,” said the law minister after the top court ruled that the PTI was eligible for the allocation of reserved seats.

Azam Nazeer Tarar said the ruling coalition has a clear majority both in the National and Punjab Assemblies. He recalled that the government passed the finance bill 2024-25 with majority.

The Law Minister said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was neither a party in the case nor had sought relief. He said it was Sunni Ittehad Council which had moved the court for the reserved seats.

Responding to a question, the Law Minister said it is for the political parties, affected by the decision, to take a decision regarding filing a review petition.

Azam Nazeer Tarar said that he was not sure whether the government would file a review petition challenging the verdict or not as it was the prerogative of the federal cabinet, not a minister.

Terming the verdict “interesting”, Azam Nazeer Tarar, said the SIC had claimed the reserved seats and not the PTI. “There was no mention of PTI in the PHC verdict and the law says that no judgement can be given against someone without hearing them,” said Tarar.

He pointed out that the majority of the parties were not present in the court yet the verdict was announced against them.

Azam Nazeer Tarar further said that 80 candidates had never claimed in the SC that they belonged to the PTI and why they had to join the SIC. “These 80 candidates said that they belonged to SIC,” he said. “There are constitutional and legal flaws in this verdict that will remain under discussion,” said the law minister.

Meanwhile Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah Khan on Friday said that the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring PTI eligible for reserved seats was not a conspiracy against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led (PML-N) coalition government.

“The decision to seek a review of the verdict lies with the cabinet,” Rana Sanaullah stated talking to the media. “Court verdicts are not based on ambiguity; a review is just one option; we will consult our legal team after the detailed verdict”.

In response to a question about whether this decision posed a “threat” to the PML-N-led government, an unfazed Rana Sanaullah asserted that the PML-N-led government had sufficient numbers in the federal government and more than necessary in Punjab.

On the PTI’s stance, Rana Sanaullah said, “PTI never claimed the reserved seats. If the Election Commission misinterpreted the ruling, PTI could have interpreted it correctly. Even if PTI has committed a mistake, the court must rectify it?”

“The Supreme Court ruling did not favour the SIC [Sunni Ittehad Council], as their petition was not accepted by the court,” Rana Sanaullah noted.

“The new ruling identifies these independent members as part of PTI. Verdicts should be transparent, understandable to the public, and further a sense of security, leading to national progress.”

Voicing grave concerns over the ruling, he argued that “rewriting the Constitution threatens its protection”.

“Relief was granted [to PTI] without any request for it. Judicial decisions should be comprehensible to the common man. Unfathomable rulings are never in the nation’s interest.”

Reflecting on past judgment, he added, “A previous ruling had granted someone the unsolicited power to amend the constitution, which the nation suffered from for years.

Such decisions were extremely regrettable and against the country’s interest, he said.

“We hold the courts and the judges in utmost esteem. They are the best at what they do. Judges have sworn to protect the constitution; rewriting it contravenes this oath.”

Rana Sanaullah concluded by reiterating, “The government respects the judiciary’s decisions and will carefully consider its next steps following a detailed consultation with their legal team.”