Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa said on Friday that the apex court will not “take over” the responsibilities of the Election Commission of Pakistan as the SC resumed hearing of the electoral body’s petition challenging the Peshawar High Court’s decision to restore PTI’s election symbol of ‘bat’.
A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, is hearing the case.
Justice Isa, responding to the arguments presented by PTI counsel Hamid Khan, observed that a “very clear line” of demarcation exists between the functions of a statutory body and of a constitutional body.
Qazi Faez Isa said that the Peshawar High Court’s order to restore the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s iconic electoral symbol ‘bat’ was prima facie and flawed.
“If they’re doing their job, we won’t take over their job [or] how to do it [or] how better to do it,” said the chief justice.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked on that the party (PTI) will have to “face consequences if the intra-party polls don’t allign with the law.
As the hearing commenced, the counsel representing the ECP, Makhdoom Ali Khan, came to the rostrum. CJP Isa asked him whether the high court’s written order had been issued, to which he replied in the negative.
After reading out the PHC order restoring the party’s ‘bat’ symbol, he maintained that the electoral watchdog had not received any notice of the PHC order. The CJP said he had not read the case file either.
The counsel further urged the apex court to adjourn the hearing till Monday when asked if he was ready to present the case and added that the ECP will issue electoral symbols on Saturday.
CJP Isa, however, said the SC was willing to hear the case on Saturday and Sunday as adjourning the hearing would mean the PHC order would have to be suspended.
The ECP’s counsel then sought time till Saturday to prepare for the case.
Makhdoom maintained that the PTI was supposed to hold the intra-party election in 2022 and the party had been issued a notice by the election commission for not holding the polls according to PTI’s constitution.
