Peshawar High Court on Tuesday overturned the Election Commission’s decision, allowing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to contest upcoming elections with ‘bat’.
Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel of Peshawar pronounced the verdict soon after reserving his verdict.
Last week, a five-member ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, invalidated PTI’s intra-party elections, stripping the former ruling party of its iconic cricket bat electoral symbol.
Imran Khan’s party started legal tussle against Election Commission’s rules ahead of the elections.
PTI lawyers said that the decision to set aside the Intra-Party election was tantamount to deprive the party from taking part in the elections. They said that it seemed like a decision based on malafide intention. They asked the court to declare the Election Commission’s ruling as null and void, emphasizing their disagreement with the decision.
Babar Awan, a prominent PTI leader, addressed the media outside the Peshawar High Court, expressing discontent over what he described as the unjust confiscation of PTI’s electoral symbol.
Awan asserted that the founder of PTI serves as its chairman and will continue to do so. He disclosed that PTI is actively contesting the decision through legal channels, simultaneously initiating legal proceedings for contempt of court in the Supreme Court.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Babar Awan said that the Supreme Court unequivocally stated that any interference with the election process would be treated as contempt of court.
This is a developing story and will be updated shortly…