LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a petition challenging the powers of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to withdraw the electoral symbol of a political party.

A voter, Salma Riaz, filed the petition through Advocate Azhar Siddique in wake of the ECP decision to cancel the electoral symbol of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

The petitioner assailed the vires of section 215 of the Election Act 2015, which provides eligibility of a party to obtain election symbol.

The petitioner’s counsel pleaded that the right to contest the election under a common symbol cannot be taken away. He argued that section 215 is too harsh, irrational and unsustainable as it affects the fundamental rights of more than 70 percent of the population of the country.

Therefore, he argued, the impugned section is liable to be declared illegal, unlawful and ultra vires to the Article 17(2) of the Constitution.

The counsel contended that the ECP, being a constitutional body, is not a court or a tribunal, therefore, any power wrongly assumed by it for taking away fundamental rights is illegal in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad reserved the verdict on the maintainability of the petition.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2026