‘Constitution has been rewritten’: law minister reacts to SC’s verdict on reserved seats

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on Friday said the Supreme Court’s (SC) judgement to give the...
Updated 12 Jul, 2024

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on Friday said the Supreme Court’s (SC) judgement to give the reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was tantamount to rewriting the Constitution.

Addressing the media after the SC announced its verdict on the reserved seats for women and minorities, Tarar said the matter had gone beyond interpretation.

“A lot of questions have been raised due to this verdict. Those who read and understand the law will continue commenting on today’s decision, as a situation has been developed where there is no clarity,” Tarar said.

“Article 51 and Article 106 of the constitution have been rewritten instead of being interpreted. The 80 winning members neither appeared before the Election Commission or Peshawar High Court, nor the Supreme Court, nor did they submit an affidavit stating that they belong to PTI,” the law minister added.

Tarar was of the view that the SC granted relief to the PTI through today’s verdict, which the party had not even sought.

“In today’s decision, the SC has exceeded its constitutional limits,” he said.

Speaking of the numbers in the National Assembly after today’s development, the law minister said there was no danger for the incumbent government as it still has a majority with 209 members in the assembly.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khawaja Asif termed the SC’s judgement a political decision.

“The SC has given relief to those [PTI] who did not ask for it and they were not even party in the case,” he said.

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