The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have been allotted 33 of the total 70 National Assembly seats reserved for women and minorities, taking the party's total in the lower house of the parliament to 158 — just 14 shy of the number required for simple majority.
The Election Commission of Pakistan on Saturday distributed the reserved seats among the parties as per the quotas that their respective electoral performances commanded.
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As expected, the PTI emerged as the biggest beneficiary after the distribution, thanks to the 116 seats its candidates had won themselves and the nine independents whom it had later recruited.
In all, the Imran Khan-led party was allotted 16 reserved seats for women from Punjab, four from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan.
The party, which looks set to form its government in the Centre, also bagged five of the total 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims. Of the rest of the five, two have been given to the PML-N, two to PPP and one to MMA.
The PML-N, meanwhile, has added 15 reserved seats for women from Punjab and just one from KP, which, when added to their two non-Muslim seats, brings their total gains to 18.
Their total in the NA now stands at 82.
PPPP, meanwhile, have added a total of nine women's seats and the two aforementioned non-Muslims seats to their 42 general seats. They now have 53 seats in the lower house.
PTI's current tally of 158, however, is likely to be trimmed as Khan, who won on five NA seats in the July 25 polls, will have to vacate four of them.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Tahir Sadiq also won two national and one provincial assembly seats each for the soon-to-be ruling party. Depending on which seats the duo end up keeping, the PTI's NA tally will be reduced by two to four more seats.
Moreover, PML-Q, a key PTI ally, is also likely to see its quartet of NA seats reduced by half as their party leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is a candidate for the Punjab Assembly speaker's role.
If Elahi is to vie for the provincial speaker's gig, he will have to leave both of his National Assembly seats, which would see the PTI and their alliance's seat count regress some more.
ECP issues notifications of 33 reserved seats
Following the aforesaid allocation, the ECP issued notifications for reserved seats for women from the national and the four provincial assemblies.
The PTI's Shireen Mazari and Andleeb Abbas headlined a list of PTI female leaders whose notifications were issued.
From PML-N, part spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, Maiza Hameed and Tahira Aurangzaib are among the lawmakers who have been issued their notifications for reserved seats.
PPPP's Shazia Marri, Naz Baloch and Hina Rabbani Khar have also joined the list of MNAs-elect.
