PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) Tuesday asked why the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was insisting on securing bat as its electoral symbol for the upcoming elections on February 8.
“Why are you insisting on getting bat as an election symbol?” the judge questioned the party’s counsel Barrister Ali Zafar.
The judge’s query came during the hearing of PTI’s pleas seeking to restore their electoral symbol bat and challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision declaring its intra-party election as null and void.
Responding to the judge’s question, the lawyer said that the electoral symbol issued to a certain party will not be given to others.
“The election symbol is the identity of the political party. People are not educated, they will not know which political party they are voting for,” Barrister Zafar said, further informing the court that the party has had bat as its symbol since the last two elections.
He added that PTI will not be able to partake in the polls if a certificate is not issued to them. He also mentioned a Supreme Court judgment pertaining to the election symbol.
The court asked him to submit a copy of the apex court’s judgment.
Earlier during the hearing today, PTI counsel Barrister Zafar told the court that his party’s elections were conducted according to the Constitution.
“We conducted party elections according to the Constitution,” the lawyer said.
The ECP, he added, declared the party’s elections null and void and asked to hold the election again in 20 days. The lawyer maintained that the party abided by the electoral body’s decision and also provided Form 65.
“The Election Commission said that 14 objections have been received. We said that the objectors want re-election but they are not party members,” he added, further highlighting that the party was given 30 questions pertaining to the matter.
It should be noted that the PTI’s pleas are being heard by a two-member PHC bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali.
The PTI has filed a petition challenging the non-issuance of a certificate by the electoral authority, declaring its intra-party election as null and void. The ECP also revoked the party’s election symbol bat. The PTI had approached the PHC against the decision which had earlier suspended the ECP order.
However, the election watchdog filed a review petition in the high court, which restored the ECP’s earlier order and withdrew the interim relief granted to the PTI.
At the outset of the hearing, the judges expressed displeasure over the absence of PTI counsels Barrister Gohar Khan and Barrister Zafar as they arrived late for the hearing due to fog.
Justice Ijaz also pointed out the absence of other parties in the case. However, Barrister Gohar said that the parties have nothing to do with the case.
More to follow…
