People walk past an image of cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan, at a market in Islamabad [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]
By W. Ali Khan 𝕏
TWA
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PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — The Peshawar High Court has issued a restraining order against the Election Commission’s move to nullify Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intra-party elections and revoke the party symbol. The court, after completing arguments, suspended the Election Commission’s decision until the case is resolved.
Emphasizing the need for a double bench hearing after the holidays, the court included the Election Commission and the intra-party election challengers in the petition filed by Tehreek-e-Insaf.
During the hearing, PTI’s lawyers, including Ali Zafar, Babar Awan, and Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar, contended that the Election Commission had overstepped its authority. They argued that intra-party elections were held as per the commission’s directives, and the subsequent decision to annul them and withdraw the electoral symbol was illegal and unconstitutional.
PTI’s legal representative, Ali Zafar, highlighted the Election Commission’s contradictory stance on the elections’ legitimacy, asserting that the party had been unfairly excluded from general elections. The court questioned the Election Commission’s grounds for challenging PTI’s elections, and Ali Zafar argued that such disputes should be addressed in civil court, not through the annulment of intra-party elections.
It’s worth noting that the Election Commission of Pakistan had withdrawn the bat symbol from PTI last week, citing non-compliance with intra-party election procedures.
