ISLAMABAD – Major blow to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as Supreme Court, by a 7-5 majority, has set aside its earlier ruling granting the party access to reserved seats. The constitutional bench allowed review petitions and restored the Peshawar High Court verdict, which had denied reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — the group PTI-backed independents had joined after the 2024 elections.
Supreme Court has concluded the hearing of the review case concerning reserved seats. The arguments by the Attorney General were completed, marking the end of the proceedings. At this point, Justice Aminuddin Khan announced that a short order would be announced shortly.
Earlier in the day, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar recused himself from the case. He was among the 11 judges on the constitutional bench hearing the matter. Justice Panhwar stated that Advocate Hamid Khan had raised objections against him, and since a perception of judicial bias could be damaging, he chose not to sit on the bench. Following his recusal, the constitutional bench took a short break and resumed proceedings with 10 judges.
During the hearing, a heated exchange occurred between Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Hamid Khan, with the judge reminding the senior lawyer to “mind your language.”
In his arguments, Hamid Khan contended that as per the ruling in the Qazi Faez Isa case, a review cannot be heard by fewer judges than those who passed the original verdict. He insisted that a 13-judge decision cannot be reviewed by a 10-member bench.
However, Makhdoom Ali Khan, representing the affected government members, argued that if a judge recuses themselves, the remaining judges still constitute a full court. He noted that two judges had already given their opinion, and one had recused himself today.
The court dismissed Hamid Khan’s objection regarding the composition of the constitutional bench.
Today’s hearing was the 17th on the review petitions. On July 12, 2024, the full 13-member bench had awarded the reserved seats to PTI by an 8-judge majority decision.
In July 2024, the PML-N, PPP, and in August the Election Commission had filed review petitions. These were taken up by the full bench on May 6, 2025.
Justices Ayesha Malik and Aqeel Abbasi had earlier recused themselves on May 6 after rejecting the review pleas, and today Justice Salahuddin Panhwar stepped back during the 17th hearing.
The Election Commission, PML-N, and PPP have all submitted their written submissions in the case.
