The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has filed an application before the Supreme Court against the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision regarding the party’s election symbol.
The high court had accepted the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) plea and withdrew its previous stay order on the ECP verdict annulling the PTI’s intra-party poll and subsequently withdrawing its election symbol of bat.
The PTI on Thursday approached the Supreme Court against the PHC’s verdict, stating in its appeal that the high court gave a hasty decision. The case was already scheduled before the division bench, so the single bench was not competent to decide the appeal before the division bench.
The PTI also requested that the Supreme Court hear its appeal urgently.
The court later assigned a number to the PTI’s appeal.
The petition contended that the election commission’s application was not admissible, claiming that unlike other political parties, the PTI is being discriminated against.
The Election Commission of Pakistan did not take any evidence into account while withdrawing the bat election symbol. The bat was taken away by making a decision without considering evidence, the petition stated.
The Peshawar High Court also did not consider the facts in its judgement; its decision is illegal, the petition stated. The high court judge misinterpreted the law and caused injustice.
The PTI has said in its application that it was granted temporary relief on December 26, 2023, adding that it was not necessary to issue a notice to the parties concerned before the temporary relief.
A temporary relief is granted under apprehensions of irreparable harm, the application stated, adding that the Peshawar High Court had been told that there will be irreparable damage if the bat symbol was not allotted.
