PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Monday stopped the Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan from issuing final orders in a petition challenging the PTI’s intra-party polls.

A two-member PHC bench comprising Justice S.M. Atique Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, while admitting PTI’s petition, directed the respondent (ECP) to continue with the proceedings, but restrained it from issuing a final order.

“Meanwhile, the respondent ECP is directed to continue with proceedings pursuant to impugned notice; however, no final order shall be passed against the petitioners,” the order read.

The bench adjourned the further hearing till December 19.

Gohar welcomes PHC decision, sees ‘bat’ on ballot paper as party’s election symbol

PTI Chairman Barris­ter Gohar Ali Khan and senior lawyer Qazi Muha­mmad Anwar appeared before the bench.

During the hearing, the PTI chairman told the bench that Akbar S. Babar, who had challenged the intra-party polls, was neither a member nor has anything to do with the party. He said there were 175 political parties in the country and only PTI’s intra-party polls were being objected to.

Barrister Gohar said the intra-p­a­r­­ty polls were held under the consti­t­u­­tion, requesting the court to stop the ECP from making a final decision on the polls till the conclusion of the instant petition.

The PTI’s petition requested the court to declare that a delay on the part of the ECP to publish the certificate on its website, especially in the view of the election schedule, was without jurisdiction, without lawful authority and illegal.

It asked the court to direct the commission to forthwith “publish the certificate of the PTI on ECP website”, as required by Article 209 (3) of the Elections Act 2017, in the interest of the justice.

The PHC bench was also requested to declare that the ECP proceedings in this regard were without jurisdiction and unlawful and no action can be taken by the commission in pursuance thereof.

Also, the court should also hold that the ECP cannot question the validity of intra-party elections on the basis of any objections filed any person, the petition pleaded.

In the interim relief, the party asked the court to restrain the ECP from passing any order against the PTI in the matter of intra-party elections/or allotment of election symbol (bat) till a final disposal of this petition.

‘PTI won’t boycott elections’

Talking to reporters after the hearing, the PTI chief said that while other parties were “in cahoots with the umpire” to win the elections, his party and its election symbol “bat” was the choice of people.

He said Imran Khan was a democratic person and his [Gohar Khan] nomination to PTI’s top slot was a proof of his democratic credentials.

He said the PTI would not boycott the elections, adding that the ECP’s act of changing the party’s election symbol would not be acceptable to them. “We will appear before the ECP on Tuesday (today) for the hearing of intra-party elections case”.

Hailing the PHC decision, the PTI chairman expressed the hope that elections would be held as per schedule and the party’s electoral symbol “bat” would be on the ballot paper.

“Left with no other option in view of successive adverse orders by ECP, petition before Pesh­awar High Cou­rt was filed in Intraparty Election matter and consequential allotment of election symbol (bat). PHC was pleased to restrain ECP from passing final order. Alhamd­ulillah. We hope election will be held and on ballot paper ‘bat’ will be our symbol,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2023