ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Thursday that 39 lawmakers, who initially contested the February 8 elections as independent candidates and later joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), have been designated as members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) by the Supreme Court’s July 12 verdict on reserved seats.
The ECP posted the notification on its website, affirming that these lawmakers had declared their affiliation with PTI in their nomination papers for the February 8 national polls. This decision was made during a significant session chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja today.
Asad Qaiser, Sher Afzal Khan, Latif Khan Khosa, Zartarj Gul, Shandana Gulzar Khan, Zain Hussain Qureshi, Malik Aamir Dogar, Ali Afzal Sahi, Ali Khan Jadoon, and additional MNAs were among those officially recognized as PTI members by the ECP today.
These lawmakers had declared their affiliation with the PTI in their nomination papers ahead of the 2024 general elections.
After losing their election symbol, PTI candidates contested the February 8 elections as independents. Directed by PTI to join the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to qualify for reserved seats, they won the most seats but were initially denied these seats by the ECP and later by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) due to procedural issues.
However, 41 candidates who had been declared independents hadn’t mentioned PTI in their nomination papers nor did they disclose their affiliation with the party nor submit the ticket of any party.
The ruling parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have filed a review petition in the apex court against the reserved seats’ verdict, which came as an unexpected legal victory for the main opposition party.
Moreover, on July 12, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of PTI, declaring it eligible for the reserved seats it had won. This legal victory allowed PTI to return to parliament, altering the composition of the National Assembly and impacting the coalition dynamic