Akbar S. Babar to challenge PHC’s verdict on ‘bat’ symbol

PESHAWAR: PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar has announced to challenge the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict, suspending the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) declaration and restoring the party’s electoral symbol “bat”, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

On Dec 22, the electoral watchdog stripped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of its electoral symbol “bat’” symbol in a decision on founding member Akbar S Babar’s petition challenging the intra-party elections to be in line with the rules.

The PTI later filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) earlier today challenging the ECP’s decision.

Following the hearing, the PHC suspended the ECP’s decision nullifying PTI’s intra-party polls and restored the party’s electoral symbol.

Reacting to the development, Akbar S. Babar announced that they would challenge the PHC’s verdict at all judicial platforms, adding that the consultation with law experts were underway in this regard.

He noted that they would not allow the “usurpation of rights”, saying that political parties were being operated as family fiefdoms while overlooking merit.

“Political parties should act as accountable to workers as per the constitution and law’, Akbar S. Babar said, adding that refusing party workers to elect leadership leads to failed political leadership.

The PHC verdict

PHC Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel announced the verdict after reserving his order on a PTI petition against the ECP decision.

“After hearing the arguments from both sides, this Court reached to a conclusion that as elections are scheduled to be held on 08 February, 2024 and last date for allotment of election symbols is 13th January, 2024, so keeping in view the urgency, that a political party has been denuded of its symbol, meaning thereby that aspirants from the general public who were willing to vote for the petitioners’ party were divested of their right to vote as per their choice,” said the written order issued by PHC.

“The office is directed to give notices to all the respondents for 09.01.2024. In the meanwhile, the impugned order dated 22.12.2023 is suspended with further direction to the Election Commission to publish the certificate on its website and restore the election symbol of PTL This order will be operative till 09.01.2024.”