The PTI on Friday alleged that conspiracies were being hatched to snatch its iconic electoral symbol “bat” and exclude the party from the February 8 general elections.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the PTI have been in “bat blood” over the past few days. The controversy stems from the electoral watchdog’s earlier decision to strip PTI of its symbol following the annulment of its intra-party elections for not complying with the Elections Act and the party’s own constitution.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said the ‘bat’ was not just the PTI’s electoral symbol but was also the symbol of the expectations of the Pakistani nation.
“The Supreme Court has settled that snatching the electoral symbol is equivalent to dissolving a political party and this right only lies with the apex court in Article 17 [of the Constitution],” he said.
“All these political leaders [of the Pakistan Democratic Movement] won’t be able to gain anything on February 8. They will all lose their seats if free, fair and transparent elections are conducted,” Barrister Gohar asserted. “Therefore they are trying to take the ‘bat’ away from us.”
The PTI chairman stressed that he was a representative of Imran, asserting that the former prime minister “was, is and will always remain our leader” irrespective was wherever he was.
The lawyer highlighted that the highest number of nomination papers had been filed by PTI candidates. “If you take away our electoral symbol, will all of them contest as independent candidates? If this happens, who will be responsible for horse-trading after the polls?”
Gohar further pointed out that the upcoming elections were the most crucial for the country and derailing them would result in a huge loss for the country.
