PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD (Daily Point) — In a significant legal win for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Peshawar High Court (PHC) reinstated the party’s “bat” symbol on Wednesday and suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order that had taken away the party’s traditional electoral symbol.
The court’s decision came after it had reserved its judgment earlier in the day, following a hearing where all parties presented arguments regarding PTI’s petition challenging the ECP’s decision. The ECP had declared the intra-party election as null and void, revoking PTI’s electoral symbol “bat.”
The two-member PHC bench, consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali, conducted the hearing. The previous day, the lawyers of the ECP and the PTI had presented their arguments.
During the hearing, the court heard from other parties involved in the case. Advocate Qazi Jawwad, representing one of the petitioners, expressed that his client sought information about PTI’s intra-party polls from the party’s head office but received no response. He argued that his client wanted to participate in the elections but was not given the opportunity, requesting that the polls be declared null and void.
Justice Anwar noted that the petitioner did not call for re-elections if the intra-party elections were annulled by the ECP. The lawyer also raised objections to the PHC hearing the case based on provincial jurisdiction, stating that PTI’s intra-party elections were conducted nationwide, not just in Peshawar.
Justice Arshad questioned how a case could not be filed in Peshawar if the polls were held in the city, emphasizing that the jurisdiction was determined by where the polls took place. The court mentioned that the Lahore High Court had rejected PTI’s petition, directing them to the Peshawar High Court.
Regarding the electoral symbol, Justice Arshad questioned whether a political party could contest an election without an electoral symbol. The lawyer mentioned a similar instance in 1985, to which the judge responded, acknowledging the legal framework in place at that time.
