The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) still remains undecided about the 41 reserved seats belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as ongoing consultations with legal experts continue.
In a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Friday, it was announced that a final decision could not be reached today. The ECP plans to reconvene on Monday to further discuss the matter.
The legal team informed the commission that, following amendments to the Elections Act, the Supreme Court's previous rulings on the reserved seats no longer held significant relevance regarding these seats. It further told the meeting that the PTI was not entitled to the reserved seats, and the party is not even included in the current National Assembly roster.
The commission decided to continue consultation process with legal experts, sources said.
In a separate development, the ECP took disciplinary action against three officials in response to a serious incident in Karachi. Following reports of damage to polling station bags due to forced entry into a strong room after breaking locks, the chief election commissioner suspended Sindh Election Commissioner Sharifullah, along with Azhar Hussain Tanwari, the director admin of the election commission Sindh, and Khuda Bakhsh, an election officer in Karachi, for 120 days due to incompetence and misconduct.
A joint investigation committee has been established, headed by the Sindh joint provincial election commissioner, to probe into the incident, which occurred on the night of September 17. This committee, comprising Director HR Waseem Ahmed and Larkana Division Regional Election Commissioner Abdul Waheed, is tasked with completing the investigation within three days and submitting a report.
In the interim, the suspended officials have been ordered to remain in Karachi until the inquiry is concluded. Ali Asghar Siyal has been appointed as the Sindh acting election commissioner during this period.
On the night of September 17, bags of various polling stations were damaged by breaking the locks of the strong room in Pipri, Karachi.
