Nawaz Sharif summons party leaders for important meeting in Murree

Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif has called an important meeting to plan the party's strategy following the Supreme Court's recent ruling on reserved seats, the sources said on Saturday

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, and other party leaders are expected to participate in this meeting. Members of the federal cabinet will also join the discussions, focusing on the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision, which deemed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) eligible for reserved seats.

This development follows PTI's recent legal victories. Additionally, the meeting chaired by Nawaz Sharif will address other significant issues facing the party.

In a related event, Punjab Minister for Information Azma Bokhari held a press conference where she criticized the Supreme Court's ruling, accusing it of introducing a "super" doctrine of necessity. She argued that the court's decision provided unsolicited relief to PTI.

“Countries have consistently suffered due to the doctrine of necessity,” she said, highlighting the harm caused to Pakistan by favoritism towards the “blue-eyed boy”.

 Bokhari pointed out that PTI did not request reserved seats, yet they were granted without solicitation. "Why is there such favoritism towards a party? The favored one receives relief, even when it’s not sought," she remarked.

On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned the previous denial of reserved seats to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict on a petition filed by SIC, an ally of PTI. Justices Athar Minallah, Shahid Waheed, Muneeb Akhtar, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, and Irfan Saadat Khan ruled in favor of PTI.

The court nullified the Peshawar High Court’s ruling, which had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to deny reserved seats to SIC.

The Supreme Court's order stated that the ECP's allocation of reserved seats to the ruling coalition was unconstitutional.

The bench accepted SIC's petition, ruling that the party is eligible for reserved seat allocation and instructed PTI to submit a list of candidates for reserved seats to the ECP within 15 days.