The Attorney General of Pakistan on Wednesday submitted its written response to the Supreme Court in the reserved seats case, stating that the Sunni Ittehad Council “cannot be permitted to make its way into assemblies via backdoor”.
The SIC’s appeal, the AGP stated in its 30-page written submissions to the 13-member full court, for reserved seats should be dismissed and the Peshawar High Court’s verdict on the matter should be upheld.
The attorney general, while elaborating on the allocation mechanism, said that reserved seats for minorities and women could be given to a political party who contested the polls and won at least one seat besides providing a list of candidates based on the total number of seats it won as per the law.
Furthermore, independent candidates could not automatically become relevant for reserved seats under a parties’ list system unless they join a political party.