October 4, 2002	Friday	Rajab 26, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: The Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that election laws promulgated by the military government were so defective that the NWFP and Balochistan would not have any share in seats reserved for woman as no political party in both the provinces would be in a position to win five per cent seats out of the total 272 general assembly seats.

The special bench, comprising five judges, issued notice to the federation to give its version on points raised in the petition filed by former federal minister, J.Salik.

The petitioner’s counsel, Abdul Karim Kundi, stated that his client had been elected a member of the national assembly thrice but under the newly promulgated laws, he was not allowed to contest election.

Under the existing laws, he said, the petitioner had to be a member of a political party, which might include his name in the party list for minorities.

“My client”, the petitioner stated, “approached all the main political parties but none was willing to accept him in their fold.”

The petitioner stated that the Election Order, 2002, was so defective that Balochistan, which had a share of three women’s seats, would not have this as no political party would be in a position to win five per cent of total general seats as there were fourteen general seats allocated to the province and the regional parties would win a few seats each.

He said that the law provided that only that political party would be qualified to have a share in the reserved seats, which would secure at least five per cent of the seats from 272 general seats for the national assembly. “This is impossible,” he remarked.

Similarly in the NWFP, the women’s seats reserved for the province would not be elected as no political party in the province was in a position to get five per cent of the total general seats.

The court, however, observed that contesting election was not a fundamental right of any citizen but it was a statutory right.