Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) have officially been designated as members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in the latest party position update released by the National Assembly Secretariat.

According to the new list, PTI is no longer recognized as a political entity within the National Assembly, with all 80 former members now representing the SIC. Previously, the breakdown included 39 members from PTI and 41 independents. Following the amendments to the Election Act, this restructuring has positioned all 80 members under the SIC banner.

The updated party position also details the allocations for other major political parties: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) holds 110 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has 69, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) claims 22 seats.

Additionally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has 22 seats, Pakistan Muslim League (Q) has 5, and the Independent Political Party (IPP) has 4 seats. There are 8 independent members in the assembly, while Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Movement (PKMAP), Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP), and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) each hold one seat. Notably, one independent member has joined PML-N.

The new Election Act has also resulted in reserved seats being allocated: PML-N receives 23, PPP gets 5, and JUI is awarded 3.

Earlier, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, communicated with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), urging that reserved seats not be allocated to PTI. He emphasized that the Supreme Court's ruling regarding PTI is now "incapable of implementation" due to recent amendments to the Election Act 2017.

In his correspondence with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sadiq noted that the Supreme Court's ruling was based on laws prior to the amendments, allowing candidates to switch parties. He stated that independent candidates who have joined political parties cannot later change their affiliations, according to the amended Election Act, which states that such declarations are irrevocable.

A recent Supreme Court verdict, delivered by a 13-member bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled that PTI remains eligible for reserved seats, overturning a previous Peshawar High Court decision that upheld the ECP's denial of these seats to SIC. The judgment revealed a split, with a majority of 8-5 favoring PTI.

The issue of reserved seats became prominent following the success of over 80 PTI-backed independent candidates in the February elections. The SIC subsequently petitioned the ECP for reserved seat allocations, but their request was denied due to PTI's failure to submit a candidate list on time. The ECP distributed reserved seats among other parties, leading SIC to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court after the Peshawar High Court upheld the ECP’s ruling.

In regional assemblies, the ECP has allocated reserved seats for women to MQM-P and PPP in Sindh, while minority seats have been distributed among PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F, with notable victories including PML-N’s Neelam Meghwar, PPP’s Ramesh Kumar, and JUI-F’s James Iqbal.

The recent developments have significantly impacted the ruling coalition, bolstering PML-N and PPP's positions in the National Assembly while solidifying the SIC's presence.