Pakistan s Supreme Court granted jailed former prime minister Imran Khan s party around 20 seats in parliament
In February polls, candidates loyal to Imran Khan won the largest share of seats -- despite being forced by an election commission ruling to contest as independents.
They were kept from power however by an alliance of military-backed parties.
"Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was and is a political party which secured and won... general seats in the national and provincial assemblies in the general elections of 2024," in the majority decision read by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah.
"It is declared that lack or denial of an election symbol doesn't in any manner affect the constitutional or legal rights of a political party to participate in an election."
"The PTI shall be entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities in the national assembly accordingly," he added.
Unelected seats reserved for women and non-Muslims are handed out to parties in proportion to the number of elected seats they secured.
The ruling weakens the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
His government is propped up by a coalition of religious and regional parties and a supply and-demand deal with its long-term rival Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
To stand as a bloc in the National Assembly, candidates loyal to Khan later aligned with a lesser-known party, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
The Election Commission of Pakistan had earlier ruled against handing the reserved seats to SIC or PTI.
In the lead-up to the February polls, PTI candidates were targeted by arrests and censorship, while a mobile service blackout on polling day and delayed results gave rise to allegations of vote tampering.
Already detained in custody over dozens of legal cases, Khan was convicted in the days before the polls for a trio of offences that saw him sentenced to 14 years in prison.
A UN panel of experts said Khan's detention "had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office".
A treason conviction carrying a decade-long sentence was overturned in April and a 14-year sentence for graft was suspended in June, though the conviction stands.
An appeal decision is pending over his conviction for breaking Islamic law by marrying his wife Bushra Bibi too soon after her divorce.
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