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The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan\u2019s (ECP) declaration of the PTI\u2019s intra-party polls as unconstitutional and the revocation<\/a> of the party\u2019s \u2018bat\u2019 election symbol.<\/p>\n Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel pronounced the verdict shortly after reserving his order on a PTI petition against the ECP decision.<\/p>\n The judge said that elections were about to take place in February, adding that the last date for allotting the electoral symbols was January 13.<\/p>\n Judge Miankhel said that the arguments of all the parties involved in the case were heard.<\/p>\n \u201cPTI lawyers informed [the court] that intra-party polls were carried out over the orders of the election commission,\u201d he said. \u201cPTI lawyers argued that according to the Constitution, any citizen can form his party or be a member of any party.\u201d<\/p>\n The judge directed that notices be issued to the ECP and other respondents in the case.<\/p>\n The submission of the party\u2019s plea comes after the electoral watchdog last week voided, for the second time in under a month, the PTI\u2019s internal elections in which Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was elected<\/a> as the party\u2019s new chairman.<\/p>\n The ECP had issued a verdict following a first-of-its-kind microscopic examination of the inner workings of a political party and declared the party ineligible to obtain an election symbol to contest the upcoming general elections.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is held that PTI has not complied with our directions rendered therein order dated 23rd November 2023 and failed to hold intra-party election in accordance with PTI prevailing Constitution, 2019 and Election Act, 2017, and Election Rules, 2017,\u201d the ECP had said in its 11-page order.<\/p>\n The party had termed the decision part of the \u201cfamous London Plan\u201d and a \u201cdisgusting and shameful attempt to stop PTI from [participating in the] election\u201d.<\/p>\n It had also claimed that the party would still win the general elections, maintaining that it would appeal the decision at every forum. It asserted that its candidates would indeed contest the polls with the \u2018bat\u2019 symbol, come what may.<\/p>\n At the outset of the hearing, PTI counsel Barrister Ali Zafar highlighted that when a party provides its intra-party poll details to the ECP, the commission typically issues a certificate and posts it on its website.<\/p>\n \u201cThis certificate then renders the political party eligible to receive its electoral symbol.\u201d However, Zafar argued that, as of now, the certificate has not yet been uploaded to the ECP website.<\/p>\n Zafar argued that the ECP\u2019s directives were illegal, asserting that stripping the PTI of its electoral symbol was also unjust. \u201cWith over 0.8 million members, none from within the party raised concerns about the intra-party polls,\u201d he conveyed to the court.<\/p>\n He also questioned the relevance of individuals approaching the ECP. \u201cThese are ordinary citizens, not affiliated with the PTI,\u201d the lawyer contended.<\/p>\n He emphasised that judgments in such cases could not be given by civil courts without a proper trial. \u201cThe ECP stated that Omer Ayub is not the secretary-general, hence he cannot make any appointments,\u201d Zafar remarked, adding that even if there were errors in appointments, the polls themselves could not be challenged.<\/p>\n The PTI had challenged the ECP order earlier in the day and urged the court to fix the matter for hearing at the earliest.<\/p>\n According to the petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com<\/em>, the PTI said the ECP order was \u201cwithout legal authority and jurisdiction\u201d.<\/p>\n The party insisted that the ECP\u2019s proceedings that questioned the PTI\u2019s intra-party polls were \u201ccoram non-judice (without jurisdiction) and without lawful authority\u201d.<\/p>\n It urged the court to direct the ECP to publish the results of the PTI\u2019s intra-party polls on its website and restore the party\u2019s symbol.<\/p>\n Speaking to Dawn.com<\/em> following the submission of the petition, Gohar asked, \u201cWhat will happen to the 225 reserved seats if a party is stopped from participating in elections under its designated symbol?\u201d<\/p>\n Gohar emphasised the significance of the matter, stating it impacted 250 million people.<\/p>\n According to him, if a party lost its symbol, it would cease to exist.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are being denied everything, and a level playing field is far from reality,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the ECP in a post on social media platform X on Monday said that it did not offer the \u2018bat\u2019 electoral symbol to anyone else, including Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Parliamentarians Chairman Pervez Khattak.<\/p>\n Yesterday, Khattak, the leader of his own faction of the PTI, in a talk with the media, stirred controversy by claiming that the bat symbol was \u201coffered\u201d to him. He did not specify by whom.<\/p>\nThe hearing<\/h2>\n
\u2018Bat\u2019 symbol not allotted to someone else: ECP<\/h2>\n