What happened: On Feb 7, a petition seeking to raise the number of seats reserved for minorities in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures was denied by the Supreme Court. The petition: The petition was heard by a two-member court led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan. The lawyer argued that given the country’s rapid population growth in recent years, the parliament should be ordered to raise the number of seats for minorities not just in the National Assembly, but also in the four provincial assemblies. The rejection: In its judgement, the Supreme Court stated that a constitutional amendment was required for the purpose and that it could not direct parliament to do so. The Supreme Court maintained a previous ruling by the Lahore High Court that the top court lacked the constitutional authority to give such an order to parliament.