Federal Constitutional Court dismisses JUI-F appeal against Sadaf Ehsan

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) appeal against MNA Sadaf Ehsan’s election on a reserved seat, upholding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision, ARY News reported.

According to details, JUI-F had challenged Sadaf Ehsan’s election to a women’s reserved seat in the National Assembly. In petitions filed by JUI-F and Hina Bibi, the party argued that Sadaf Ehsan was not its nominated candidate and her name was not included in the priority list submitted to the Election Commission for reserved seats.

JUI-F maintained that it had submitted the names of four candidates to the ECP for women’s reserved seats. However, the commission allegedly altered the list on its own and declared Sadaf Ehsan a member of the National Assembly. The party argued that the name included in its priority list was Sadaf Yasmin, not Sadaf Ehsan.

During the hearing, senior JUI-F leader and lawyer Senator Kamran Murtaza appeared before the court. He argued that the Election Commission had no legal authority to make changes to a political party’s list of candidates submitted for reserved seats.

Kamran Murtaza said that if there was any error or omission in the list submitted by the party, the ECP should have sought clarification or asked the party to make corrections instead of making a unilateral decision.

He also described the matter as a unique case in Pakistan’s electoral history.

However, a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Aamer Farooq dismissed JUI-F’s appeal after hearing arguments from the parties and upheld the Election Commission’s decision.

Following the ruling, Sadaf Ehsan will retain her membership of the National Assembly on the women’s reserved seat.