Before Elections: Imran Khan loses his party symbol ” bat”
Islamabad, January 14: In anticipation of the upcoming general elections on February 8, the Supreme Court in the country has affirmed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling, invalidating the intra-party polls of Imran Khan-led PTI and stripping the party of its election symbol, the bat, as reported by local media.
After a three-day continuous hearing, a three-judge bench, consisting of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Musarrat Hilali, delivered the verdict at 11:15 pm on Saturday in response to the ECP’s plea, according to Dawn.
Overturning the Peshawar High Court’s order to restore PTI’s bat symbol, the bench stated, “Merely presenting a certificate from the PTI claiming that intra-party elections were conducted could not be sufficient to prove that such elections had genuinely taken place, especially when some party members contested this assertion.”
On December 22, the election watchdog invalidated the PTI’s intra-party polls held on December 2, responding to complaints filed by dissident PTI members.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, PTI leaders mentioned that despite losing their party symbol, they intend to participate in the elections as independent candidates.
