Latif Khosa, the lawyer for the former ruling party, has taken a harsh line against the highest judiciary and election watchdog for removing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) famous bat symbol, asking who has the authority to determine a party’s hierarchy.
Days before the general elections on February 8, the PTI, founded by Imran Khan, received a severe setback last week when the Supreme Court overturned the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) January 10 verdict, stripping the party of its “iconic” electoral symbol—the bat.
Following a full day of hearings, a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and consisting of Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Musarrat Hilali rendered their decision. After hours of deliberation, the CJP Isa-led bench of the top court unanimously opted to endorse the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) argument.
In an interview with media, Khosa—who joined the PTI last month at the behest of the imprisoned Imran Khan—stated that “who are they to decide” if it is acknowledged that the PTI intra-party elections had shortcomings.
“A similar pattern of conducting intra-party elections has also been observed by the PPP and the PML-N.”
Through comparable elections held within the political party, Bilawal was selected as the PPP chairman.When questioned about the basis or issue on which Justice Isa would have given the previous ruling party relief, Khan’s attorney stated that his client’s party had been denied 227 assembly reserved seats. “Is the ECP a headmaster? Will the ECP monitor select the next president, general secretary, or political party office-bearer?
