The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has provided significant relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party ahead of the February 8 general elections by declaring the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to revoke the PTI's 'bat' electoral symbol and reject its intra-party polls as "illegal." The PHC deemed the ECP order "without any lawful authority and of no legal effect."
In its concise order, the PHC directed the ECP to publish the certificate submitted by the PTI following its internal polls on its website. The court emphasized that the PTI is entitled to the election symbol in accordance with the Election Act, 2017, and Election Rules, 2017.
The two-member bench, comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Syed Arshad Ali, announced the verdict on a petition jointly filed by PTI Chairman Gohar Khan and six other leaders, seeking the court's declaration of the ECP order as illegal and without jurisdiction.
On December 22, the ECP had decided against allowing PTI to retain its electoral symbol, citing a failure to conduct intra-party polls in accordance with its constitution and election laws. The PTI challenged this decision in the PHC on December 26, and a single-member bench temporarily restored the party's electoral symbol until January 9, directing the case to be heard by a divisional bench.
On December 30, the ECP filed a review application, arguing that the court had exceeded its jurisdiction. Subsequently, the high court withdrew the stay on the ECP order, depriving the PTI of its symbol again. The PTI then appealed to the Supreme Court, but withdrew the appeal as the matter was already under consideration by the PHC bench.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar, speaking to the media after the verdict, congratulated the nation and highlighted that the court had declared the ECP's December 22 order unconstitutional. He asserted that with the 'bat' symbol restored, the PTI is confident of victory in the upcoming elections.
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