Bat symbol: PTI files review plea before SC

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed on Tuesday a review petition before the Supreme Court against its verdict of upholding the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order of revoking the party’s electoral symbol of ‘bat’, Aaj News reported.

On January 13, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarat Hilali had set aside the impugned judgment of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) which restored the bat symbol to PTI.

In its petition today, the PTI urged the SC to declare the ECP verdict as “without jurisdiction, without lawful authority and illegal and liable to be set aside”.

The plea requested the SC to review its verdict and restore the decision of the PHC.

The elections are set to be held on February 8.

Background

PTI’s intra-party elections, in which Barrister Gohar was elected as chairman of the party after being nominated by PTI founder Imran Khan, were held on December 2 on directives issued by the electoral body.

However, the polls had drawn sharp criticism as estranged PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar announced that he would challenge the entire process.

He had alleged that the PTI had carried out a selection process aimed at throwing out party workers to give the reins to a few lawyers.

On December 22, the electoral body nullified the former ruling party’s intra-party elections, for the third time since last year, declaring the PTI ineligible for obtaining its traditional electoral bat symbol.