PTI candidates cleared to contest elections with bat symbol

MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has won a key legal battle in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The AJK High Court today set aside the Election Commission’s decision to cancel PTI’s registration and directed the commission to restore the party immediately, ARY News reported.

According to reports, the larger bench was headed by Chief Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja. The petition came from PTI AJK President and former Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi. He had challenged the Election Commission’s move that stripped PTI of its status as a registered party in the region.

For the past few weeks, PTI candidates in Azad Kashmir were in limbo. Without registration, they couldn’t file papers under the party name. The bat symbol was gone too. That forced many to think about contesting as independents, which changes everything in local elections.

The court didn’t buy the Election Commission’s reasoning. The judges said the cancellation was not legal and violated basic political rights. In the written order, the bench told the Election Commission AJK to restore PTI’s registration without delay and allow candidates to use the bat symbol in the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections.

The Election Commission has now been asked to issue a notification and update its list of registered political parties accordingly.

This matters because the bat is PTI’s most recognized symbol. With it back, the party can field candidates under one flag again. Analysts in Muzaffarabad say the timing gives PTI a clear advantage as election activity picks up across AJK. Party workers on the ground are already calling it a major relief.

The case will likely set a precedent for how registration disputes are handled in Azad Kashmir going forward.

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