‘Only parliament can alter constitution, not SC’; Sanaullah on reserved seats ruling

The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political & Public Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, commented on the recent Supreme Court verdict on the reserved seats case, saying, “The judiciary cannot alter the constitution, but parliament can.”

In a significant legal victory for the Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the “party is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats”.

Sanaullah criticised the top court’s verdict, saying that it “violated Article 51” and relevant clauses that clearly bound independent candidates to join political parties within three days after elections.

He also disapproved of the ruling granting an additional two weeks to process the independent candidates’ affiliations to their desired political parties.

The senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader also stated that the verdict would be “opening the front gate for horse-trading.”