ISLAMABAD: Justice Athar Minallah of the Supreme Court stated on Saturday that it appears the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) misinterpreted the high court’s decision in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) electoral symbol case, as it did not aim to prevent the political party from running in the elections.
In the reserved seats case being heard by a full court presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the Supreme Court judge wrote in an additional note that “prima facie, the interpretation was flawed and the judgment could have been construed as having the effect of disqualifying a major political party from the general elections.”
The entire court bench, which is led by the CJP, is made up of Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, and Yahya Afridi.
Judges Amin-ud-Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Malik, Minallah, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, Irfan Saadat Khan, and Naeem Akhtar Afghan are among the justices.
Justice Minallah claimed in the note that the ECP’s decision misconstrued the Supreme Court’s decision and denied voters their fundamental rights.
