PA suspends MPAs in reserved seats after SC verdict

LAHORE:

The ruling alliance in Punjab was dealt a blow when the provincial assembly speaker restricted 27 MPs to reserved seats after the Supreme Court overturned the Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict reserving the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). Seats for women and minorities had been rejected.

The decision issued by the Speaker stated that the women and non-Muslim members appointed to reserved seats through ECP notifications dated March 4, March 8 and March 22, 2024 cannot serve as members or participate in assembly proceedings, until their status is clarified either by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) or the SC.

The opposition sees this decision as a significant triumph and also draws attention to the fate of other legislative matters, in particular with regard to a government decision of May 9 against the SIC in which these MPs voted.

It is pertinent to note that during the proceedings on May 9, Opposition MP Rana Aftab had raised doubts over how these MPs sitting on reserved chairs could participate in the game during the Assembly proceedings after the SC stalled the PHC verdict.

In response, the speaker questioned how he could make a call on his own when the ECP had not withdrawn it.

Speaker Khan wondered how he could go beyond the limits when neither the SC had addressed the Punjab Assembly nor the ECP had stripped them of their titles.

However, he mentioned that the Punjab Assembly had sought advice from the ECP, Attorney General of Pakistan, Advocate General of Punjab and the Legal Department in view of the Supreme Court’s decision.

He assured the House that he would make a decision based on the interpretation provided.
On Friday, in response to the point of order raised by Rana Aftab of the Opposition, Speaker Khan announced his decision: “In exercise of the powers conferred on me under Rule 209 of the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab 1997, I, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Speaker, gives the following decision on this issue is announced.”

He recalled that “on May 9, 2024, when the 9th session of the Punjab Provincial Assembly began, Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan MPA (PP-108) raised a point of order following the above order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan .” By resolution dated May 6, 2024, the female and non-Muslim members present in the House of Representatives who were declared elected based on the above quota should not sit in the House of Representatives.”

The judgment said the Speaker was of the view that the said order and the resulting proceedings should have been communicated to the Speaker by the ECP, but added that this was not the case. “Therefore, I was unable to decide the matter on the spot. But after Mr. Aftab Ahmad Khan tabled the order in the House, the Speaker is obliged to comply with it.”

“With this reasoning, I conclude that the point of order raised by Mr Aftab Khan MPA on May 9, 2024 is in order and the women/non-Muslim members as per ECP notices dated March 4, March 8 and March 22. Those declared elected on March 1, 2024 cannot serve as members or participate in the proceedings of the Assembly until their status is clarified by the ECP or the Honorable Supreme Court.”

Also read SC suspends PHC’s seat allotment order

The opposition claimed that out of a total of 27 MPAs, 23 MPAs of the PMLN (including one minority-level seat), two MPAs of the PPP (including a minority unit), one MPA of the PMLQ and one of the IPP would not remain part of the assembly.

Later, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution moved by PML-N legislator Amjad Ali Javed on the killing of 11 Punjabi workers in Balochistan, demanding the federal government to ensure the arrest of those responsible to bring them to book.

After disposing of the agenda items, Speaker Khan adjourned the House session until May 13 at 2 p.m.
Notably, the Supreme Court on Monday overturned the PHC verdict denying reserved seats for women and minorities in the Sunni Ittehad Council.

This development came during a session chaired by a three-member bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Athar Minallah. The chamber heard the SIC’s appeal against the PHC’s decision.

The SC was hearing a petition filed by SIC, the new political home of elected PTI lawmakers, regarding denial of reserved seats for women and minorities.

Initially, PTI-backed independent candidates had allied with the SIC after losing their party symbol ‘bat’ following the February 8 elections.

In March, the ECP issued a 4-1 ruling rejecting the Sunni Ittehad Council’s claim to reserved seats due to alleged legal defects and failure to comply with mandatory party list filing requirements.

As a result, the ECP redistributed seats among other parliamentary parties, with PML-N and PPP gaining 16 and five additional seats respectively, while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl secured four seats. PTI rejected this decision as unconstitutional.

Subsequently, in the same month, the PHC rejected an appeal by the Sunni Ittehad Council against the ECP’s decision, thereby denying them reserved seats.