In a landmark decision on Friday, Pakistan's top court ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, PTI, is entitled to its share of reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies, marking a significant legal victory for the incarcerated leader's supporters.

The 8-5 decision overturned an earlier verdict by the Election Commission of Pakistan, upheld by a provisional court, which had deprived PTI of nearly 80 reserved seats. This ruling will allocate more than 20 seats in the National Assembly to PTI, impacting the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

With this decision, the ruling coalition's two-thirds majority is reduced, although it retains over 200 seats in the 336-member body. PTI leaders celebrated this victory as a historic moment for their party and supporters.

"It's a day of joy for supporters in and outside Pakistan. We finally got our right," said PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan outside the court.

The court's ruling comes five months after the February 8 elections, which faced allegations of pre-poll rigging and result manipulation. Despite these claims, the election commission and Sharif's coalition have rejected calls for an investigation into electoral discrepancies.

Following the verdict, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar expressed his disappointment, stating, "It's painful that apparently the articles of the constitution were not interpreted but rewritten." He added that the Cabinet would decide whether to repeal the verdict.

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