https://arab.news/9znuk
- The new PTI chairman says the decision was taken since the Peshawar High Court was also looking into the matter
- Pakistan’s election body took away ‘cricket bat’ as Khan’s party symbol while declaring its intraparty polls null and void
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Wednesday withdrew a petition seeking the restoration of its election symbol filed in the country’s top court, saying the matter was currently adjudicated by the Peshawar High Court that was likely to issue its verdict later today.
The country’s election regulatory authority issued an order on December 22, ruling the PTI intraparty polls null and void for violating its regulations and taking away “cricket bat” as its election symbol.
The PTI moved the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against the ECP decision that led to the restoration of the party symbol. However, the court upheld the ECP order in a review petition, making the party take its case to the Supreme Court while the PHC was still conducting its proceedings.
“The main case is pending in the Peshawar High Court and the hearing was held for five hours yesterday,” said the newly elected PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan while speaking to the media outside the top court. “The judges adjourned the hearing for 9 [am] today.”
“The court observed the decision [in the matter] would most likely be announced [today],” he continued. “Keeping this in mind, the petition we had filed in the Supreme Court against the interim [high court] order became infructuous [or unnecessary] … We have withdrawn the plea from the Supreme Court.”
Election symbols are crucial in Pakistan where the adult literacy rate is just 58 percent, according to World Bank data.
The cricket bat is reflective of ex-PM Khan’s past as a successful cricketer, who led Pakistan to their only 50-over World Cup win in 1992, propelling him to an unrivaled position among the country’s cricket greats.
Political analysts say without the restoration of their election symbol, the PTI leaders will have to contest the upcoming elections as independent candidates.
This will also deprive the party of reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies for women and religious minorities.