No’ Bat in hand: PTI suffers major reversal as SC annuls PHC order
ISLAMABAD In a major reversal ahead of the February 8 choices, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost its iconic “Bat” symbol after the Supreme Court Saturday annulled the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) January 10 order.
A three- member bench — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali — blazoned the amicable verdict after a day-long hail.
The apex court’s ruling came after hours of delay as the top court’s CJP Isa- led three- member bench decided to uphold the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) plea.
The election governing body had assailed the PHC verdict declaring the commission’s order “illegal, without any legal authority and of no legal effect”.
The contention started with the December 22, 2023, decision of the election commission, barring the PTI party from keeping its electoral symbol for the forthcoming February 8 choices, citing irregularities in their internal pates that didn’t misbehave with the party’s own constitution and election laws.
This urged the Imran Khan- led party to challenge the cancellation of their symbol in the PHC. A single- member judge granted temporary relief, reinstated the club symbol, and appertained the case to a larger bench for a hail on January 9.
also, on December 30, the polling body challenged the PHC’s governance over the matter. still, in a dramatic turn of events, the PHC reversed its earlier decision and upheld the ECP’s order.
Facing the prospect of losing its iconic justice club symbol for the forthcoming choices, the PTI took its fight to the loftiest court in the land — the Supreme Court. still, in a strategic move, they latterly withdrew their appeal, hoping for a favorable outgrowth from the PHC.
And the PTI did get what it wanted with PHC’s abolition of the ECP decision, but not for long as moment’s verdict took down the important- sought- after electoral symbol.
The top court allowed ECP’s solicitation by setting aside the high court’s ruling and upheld the December 22 decision of the electoral body.
The five- runner verdict stated that the apex court judges” do not agree with the learned judges (of the PHC) that the ECP didn’t have’ any governance to question or arbitrate the intra-party choices of a political party.'”
It stated that accepting any similar interpretation would render all vittles in the Election Act, 2017, that bear the holding of intra-party choices” illusory and of no consequence and be spare”.
The verdict stated that since the ECP had been calling upon PTI to hold its intra-party choices since 24 May 2021, the time when the party was in power,” it cannot be stated that ECP was victimizing PTI”.
In its logic for moment’s verdict, the top court stated that the PTI’s solicitation filed in the PHC was “ not justifiable ” as it failed to expose that another analogous solicitation was pending before the five- member bench of the Lahore High Court( LHC).
The apex court underlined that although a supplicant “may handpick to mileage of his remedy before either court, but having chosen a particular court the same disagreement cannot also be taken to the other court”.
It further stated that 14 PTI members, with stated credentials, had complained to ECP that the party’s internal choices hadn’t been held, but PTI brushed away these claims, saying that the suers weren’t the party members.
“(.) this bare denial was inadequate, particularly when they(suers) had credibly established their long association with PTI,” the verdict read.
” Democracy innovated Pakistan, a abecedarian aspect of which is the capability to put oneself forward as a seeker and to be suitable to bounce, both within a political party and in general choices. Anything less would give rise to despotism which may lead to absolutism.”
