A major political shift has taken place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly following the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision declaring all PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers as independents.
After the ECP verdict, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) has now emerged as the largest political party in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) following the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision declaring all PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers as independents.
Party position in KP Assembly:
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, in the 145-member KP Assembly, the JUI-F leads with 18 members, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 17 members, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 10 members, the Awami National Party (ANP) with 4, and the PTI Parliamentarians with 3 members.
The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) now holds only one member, while 92 PTI-backed lawmakers are sitting as independents in the house. These 92 PTI-backed members had joined SIC after winning the election as independents in the general elections last year.
Effectively, the PTI parliamentary party has ceased to exist within the assembly, marking the end of its organised presence in the provincial legislature.
Party position in Punjab Assembly:
Similarly, in the 364-member Punjab Assembly, the ruling PML-N continues to maintain its dominant position with 229 members, while the PPP holds 16 and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) has 11 members. Following the ECP ruling, 98 PTI-backed lawmakers have now been declared independent.
Party position in National Assembly:
At the national level, in the 326-member National Assembly, the SIC’s 79 members have also been declared independent. The new composition shows the PML-N leading with 125 members, the PPP following with 74, the MQM-Pakistan with 22, the PML-Q with 5, and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) holding 4 seats.
Furthermore, the JUI-F now has 10 members in the National Assembly, while the PML-Zia, the National Party, and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) each have one representative. The SIC, BNP, PKMAP, and MWM also retain one member each.
Reporter: Usman Khan