Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) faces a major setback as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) revoked the party’s electoral symbol ‘bat’ following a reserved verdict on intra-party elections.
The five-member ECP bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, declared PTI’s internal polls null and void. Consequently, the newly elected PTI chairman, Gohar Ali Khan, who replaced Imran Khan, loses his position.
PTI founding member Akbar S Babar criticized the intra-party polls, labeling them as a mere drama, and expressed concerns about the party’s future and its iconic ‘bat’ symbol.
Several individuals, including Akbar S. Babar, Raja Tahir Nawaz, and Naureen Farooq, filed applications against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) intra-party polls, leading to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) summoning key PTI figures.
Among those called were PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Chief Election Commissioner Niazullah Niazi, Umar Ayub, Haleem Adil Sheikh, Yasmin Rashid, Ali Amin Gandapur, and RO central secretariat Sardar Masroof.
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) directed the ECP to resolve the matter of PTI’s intra-party elections and symbol allocation by December 22. PTI had requested the PHC to instruct the ECP to publish the poll results on its website, a crucial step for participating in the upcoming general elections.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan emerged as the new PTI chairman through unopposed elections, succeeding the incarcerated former prime minister, Imran Khan.
The intra-party polls, mandated by the ECP, took place on December 2, with voters using an online app to cast their votes. According to PTI Election Commissioner Niazullah Niazi, former federal minister Omar Ayub Khan was elected as the party’s secretary-general, and Yasmin Rashid, despite being incarcerated, secured the position of PTI Punjab president.
