The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has extended the bar on the oath-taking of the beneficiaries allotted National Assembly reserved seats until March 13.

The order was issued on a petition filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — which was joined by PTI-backed independents who won the elections sans their electoral symbol — challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to reject the party allocation of reserved women and minority seats.

The hearing is being conducted by a five-member larger bench headed by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim.

PTI lawyer Babar Awan lamented that the presidential election is around the corner but the party with 93 seats has not been allocated those seats yet, adding that they will “fight a legal battle” to not allow their votes to be snatched.

He further remarked that parties with only one seat in the NA are being given two reserved seats, calling it a “gift” from the ECP.