A High Court in Pakistan on Tuesday reserved its verdict on review pleas filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan against its decision to suspend the electoral body’s declaration of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s organisational polls as “void” and the revocation of its electoral symbol - a cricket bat.
Jailed prime minister Imran Khan’s party faces uncertainty over its electoral symbol as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last month rejected PTI’s intra-party elections and deprived the party of its cricket bat symbol. Barrister Gohar Khan was elected as the party’s new chairman in the internal elections in December.
The party challenged the verdict in the Peshawar High Court which on December 26 suspended the ECP’s declaration of the PTI’s intra-party polls as unconstitutional as well as the subsequent revocation of the party’s iconic symbol. The election commission challenged the high court verdict. During the hearing presided over by Justice Ejaz Khan on Tuesday, the ECP’s counsel contended that the election commission sought a review of the PHC’s ruling, the Dawn newspaper reported.
At the outset, Justice Khan inquired if the Supreme Court had passed orders that directives issued by a high court applied to the entire country, the paper said.
“Absolutely. The Supreme Court suspended the Lahore High Court’s decision regarding returning officers,” the lawyer replied. He elaborated that the judgment was suspended under a unilateral decision. “The second point is that the interim relief and final plea are the same,” he added.
At one point, the judge asked where the petitioner in the case was to which the ECP counsel said he was unaware.
Justice Khan said that he could not issue an order in the case as it was fixed before a division bench on January 9. However, the ECP lawyer said he only wanted the court to withdraw the PHC order, adding that arguments would be presented before the division bench. Subsequently, the court reserved its verdict, the newspaper reported.
On Monday, PTI chairman Barrister Khan said that his party will participate in the general elections even without getting the cricket ‘bat’ as its electoral symbol.
Khan made the remarks during a meeting with journalists in Islamabad where he responded to their questions and talked about the current political situation in Pakistan, including the challenges confronting his party, especially over the election symbol.
Khan said that his party would participate in the Feb 8 elections even on a different symbol if ‘bat’ was not allotted but he would never leave the field open for other parties. “Even if we do not get the bat symbol, we will still participate in the elections. PTI will not boycott the elections under any circumstances,” he said.
He also rejected the impression that his party had any dispute with the powerful military establishment. “PTI and Imran Khan have consistently said from the beginning that the military is ours, the country is ours, and there is no dispute with anyone, including the establishment,” he said.
He also lamented at the treatment meted out to his party which he termed as “unprecedented” and asked the Supreme Court to take action against lack of a level playing field for the party founded by Imran Khan.
His remarks came as the PTI faced unusual pressure to get fair treatment in the run-up to the elections. The party ran into trouble after the May 9 violence when its supporters attacked military installations.
