Imran Khan’s PTI allowed 28 reserved seats for women

Islamabad, Aug 13: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been allotted 28 reserved seats for women and five for non-Muslims by the election commission, taking the party's tally to 158 in the National Assembly -- just 14 short of the number required for simple majority.

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Saturday distributed the reserved seats among the parties on the basis of their final tally of elected members. There are 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for minorities in the NA.

Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan's party was allotted 16 reserved seats for women from Punjab, four from Sindh, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan, Dawn reported.

The party, which looks set to form its government at the Centre, also bagged five of the total 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims. Of the rest of the five, two were allotted to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), two to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and one to Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).

Khan's party, which is just 14 short of the number required for simple majority, will depend on smaller parties to prove its majority in the House.

The party has already claimed to have crossed the magical figure of 172 required to secure simple majority in the 342-seat National Assembly.

Khan, the 65-year-old former cricketer, is set to become Pakistan's new prime minister this week.

The 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, the paper said.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N's tally in the NA now stands at 82 after the party was allotted 15 reserved seats for women from Punjab and just one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it said.

The PPP has 53 seats in the NA with the addition of 11 reserved seats -- nine for women and two for non-Muslims, the paper said.

The MMA now has 15 seats after the addition of three reserved seats - two for womenand one for non-Muslim it added.

Senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari and Andleeb Abbas were in the list of female leaders who were included in the reserved seats for women.

From the PML-N, party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, Maiza Hameed and Tahira Aurangzaib are among the lawmakers who have been issued their notifications for reserved seats, the paper added.

Shazia Marri, Naz Baloch and Hina Rabbani Khar of the PPP have also joined the list of MNAs-elect.