Peshawar High Court suspending ECP order, restores PTI’s electoral symbol
Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order, restoring the party’s iconic election symbol — “bat” — till a final decision on the petition.
PHC Chief Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel announced the verdict shortly after reserving his order on a PTI petition against the ECP decision.
PHC in its written verdict stated: “After hearing the arguments from both sides, this court concluded that as elections are scheduled to be held on February 8 and the last date for allotment of election symbols is January 13, 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 petitioners’ party were divested of their right to vote as per their choice.”
The court directed that notices be issued to all respondents for Jan 9 and suspended the ECP’s December 22 order.
