PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has once again hinted at approaching the court to claim PTPs share of reserved seats, citing his own nomination papers as the basis.

Talking to journalists informally, the chief minister emphasised that he never contested the Feb 8 general elections as an independent candidate but rather as a PTI nominee. He said this would form the foundation of his legalchallenge and vowed to go to any extent to secure PTPs share of reserved seats in both the national and provincial assemblies.

The development come in the wake of the Constitutional Bench`s recent ruling on June 27, which effectively overturned the earlier Supreme Court verdict that had declared PTI eligible for the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.

The CB decision, handed down by a majority of seven judges, nullified the Supreme Court`s July 12, 2024 ruling by eight judges and transferred the reserved seats to rival parties.

Mr Gandapur reiterated that while PTI-backed lawmakers are now technically considered independents under the new verdict, he is not among them. Citing his nomination papersthat clearly identified him as a PTI candidate, he expressed determination to fight PTI`s case in court on that basis.

With the CB`s decision rendering PTI ineligible for reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies, the number of opposition members in the KP Assembly is expected to jump from 27 to 52.

Presently, out of 27 opposition MPAs, nine each belong to the JUI-F and PML-N, five to PPP and two to each ANP and PTI-P. The strength of the opposition, however, will now include 19 from the JUI-F, 16 from PML-N, 11 from PPP and three each from ANP and PTI-P.

Currently, the 120-strong house has 93 PTI-backed MPAs, with mostly elected as independents, while 25 seatsreserved for women and non-Muslims were vacant due to the cases pending before the Supreme Court.

After the increase in their strength, the opposition members will be in a position to requisition assembly sessions. So far, they did not have sufficient numbers for the purpose. The Friday`s judgement restored several March 2024 notifications of the Election Commission of Pakistan (E CP) to declare 25 candidates of opposition parties elected to reserved seats in the KP Assembly.

Apart from the provincial assembly, the eight MNAs elected on reserved seats for women from KP also stood restored. These MNAs include four from PML-N and two each from JUI-F and PPP. In addition to electoral matters, CM Gandapur discussed regional issues, reiterating his willingness to engage with the Afghan interim government to help resolve bilateral challenges, provided he is given the mandate. He strongly criticised the forced return of Afghan nationals, terming it a violation of human rights and international law. `We cannot humiliate Afghan nationals and will never force them to leave for their country.

Mr Gandapur also argued that open borders and continued legal trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan would significantly contribute to reducing militancy in the region.