ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a review petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking the return of the party’s election symbol, the ‘bat’. The petition requested the the apex court to reconsider its decision made on January 13, which upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling from December 22, stripping the PTI of its symbol.
Highlighting that the Supreme Court’s decision did not adequately consider the intricacies of the party’s intra-party elections, PTI argues that revoking its election symbol violates the fundamental rights of voters. The party asserts that citizens have the constitutional right to form political parties and participate in elections, and the ECP exceeded its authority by rescinding PTI’s symbol.
Senior lawyers Hamid Khan and Ali Zafar have submitted the petition to the apex court, naming the Election Commission and the complainants from the high court as respondents. The petition, assigned diary number 2423/2024 by the Registrar Office, contends that instead of addressing the root causes, the ECP targeted the party’s jailed founder and failed to ensure a level playing field for PTI.
Furthermore, PTI requests the court to reconsider the withdrawal of the ‘bat’ symbol from the party within its proper context. The January 13 verdict by a three-member bench, headed by CJP Qazi Faez Isa, dealt a significant blow to PTI’s electoral prospects, resulting in its candidates contesting independently with alternative symbols and losing entitlement to reserved seats for women and minorities.
