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ISLAMABAD: Over a month after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision granting PTI eligibility for reserved seats in National and provincial assemblies, the party continues to lack official leadership and an election symbol in the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) records.
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On Wednesday, the ECP published an updated list of political parties, leaving the PTI’s leadership position vacant. This development comes more than five weeks after the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling on reserved seats. The 8-5 split decision unanimously recognized PTI’s status as a parliamentary party.
The majority judgment clarified that 39 out of 80 MNAs listed by the ECP as PTI candidates were indeed from the party. The remaining 41 independents were required to submit signed and notarized statements to the Election Commission within 15 days of the verdict, confirming their affiliation with a specific political party during the February 8 general elections.
While the ECP eventually notified the 39 lawmakers, it delayed the process by two weeks before seeking Supreme Court clarification on verification procedures, citing PTI’s loss of organizational structure.
The controversy stems from the ECP’s invalidation of PTI’s 2022 intra-party elections just before the general elections. The commission gave PTI 20 days to conduct fresh elections, which were also not recognized. Consequently, PTI lost its iconic “bat” symbol, forcing candidates to run as independents. Reserved seats were then distributed among three other political parties.
The Supreme Court has yet to respond to the ECP’s request for clarification, which some view as an attempt to prevent PTI from becoming the largest party in the National Assembly. The case against PTI’s post-general election intra-party polls – its third such exercise in under two years – remains pending before the ECP.
The revised ECP list now includes 166 registered political parties. The commission has recognized intra-party elections of several parties, including the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), without scrutiny.
Notable leadership confirmations include Nawaz Sharif as PML-N president, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman as Jamaat-i-Islami chief, and Asif Ali Zardari as head of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) despite his re-election as President. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is confirmed as chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Former KP chief minister Mehmood Khan is listed as chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), a party formed by another ex-KP chief minister, Pervaiz Khattak, before the general elections.
Other prominent party leaders in the list include Asfandyar Wali Khan (ANP), Maulana Fazlur Rahman (JUI faction), Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui (MQM-Pakistan), Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (Pakistan Muslim League), Mehmood Khan Achakzai (Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party), Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch (National Democratic Party), Dr Abdul Malik Baloch (National Party), Shahzain Bugti (Jamhoori Wattan Party), and Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (Qaumi Watan Party).
