SIC has pocketed 91 out of a total of 115 general seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly       Paramilitary soldiers stand in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan's headquarters in Islamabad. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: In a major setback to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday rejected the plea of its new ‘identity’ Sunni Ittehad Council for allocation of reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

A five-member full bench of the Commission had reserved last week its judgment on the SIC plea and at least six other related petitions. Prior to the issuance of verdict, key elections of the prime minister, speaker and deputy speaker have already been held.

In its 22-page order, the Election Commission also decided to distribute the quota of seats for SIC among other parliamentary parties. PMLN and PPP are to be the major beneficiaries in case the Supreme Court does not reverse the ECP verdict.

One member of the Election Commission from Punjab, Babar Hassan Bharwana gave a dissenting note. The order says, “….the Commission is of the view that in light of clear provisions of Article 51(6) of the Constitution read with Section 104 of the Elections Act, 2017 and Rule 92 and 94 of the Election Rules, 2017, SIC is not entitled to claim for the quota for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims due to having non curable legal defects and violation of mandatory provision of submission of party list for reserved seats, which is the requirement of law”.