ECP can declare any candidate independent, SC judge remarks

Islamabad:  The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was in control of the formula for the allocation of reserved seats and could declare any candidate as independent, Justice Ayesha Malik of the Supreme Court observed on Monday. 

"The ECP can declare anyone independent as per its will," Justice Malik remarked while hearing the Sunni Ittehad Council's (SIC) plea against the Peshawar High Court's (PHC) verdict upholding the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision denying them the reserved seats.

The case was heard by a full-court SC bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

The 13-member bench comprised Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.