Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman accuses political parties of 'attacking' judiciary

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 29 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan on Friday accused political parties of 'attacking' the judiciary after the Peshawar High Court (PHC) suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) verdict, taking away the electoral symbol of PTI, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, Gohar Khan said PTI's electoral symbol 'bat' was not just its electoral symbol but also the symbol of the nation's expectations. He said conspiracies were being planned to revoke PTI's electoral symbol and exclude the party from the general elections set to be held in February.
Khan said, "The Supreme Court had settled that snatching the symbol is equivalent to dissolving a political party." He said that other political parties will not be able to gain anything on February 8. He called upcoming elections in Pakistan "most crucial" and warned that derailing them would result in a huge loss for the country.
Gohar Khan alleged that other political leaders had attacked the judiciary. He noted that the highest number of nomination papers had been filed by PTI candidates, according to ARY News report.
He said, "If you take away our electoral symbol, will all of them contest as independent candidates?" he said, adding that who will be responsible for horse-trading after the polls?"
On December 22, ECP removed the electoral symbol 'bat' of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The electoral watchdog announced the decision on PTI founding member Akbar S Babar's petition challenging the intra-party elections. Later, the PTI filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the ECP's decision.
The Peshawar High Court suspended the ECP's decision nullifying PTI's intra-party polls and restored the party's electoral symbol. PHC Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel announced the decision after reserving his order on a PTI petition against the ECP decision, ARY News reported.
The written order issued by PHC said, "After hearing the arguments from both sides, this Court reached to a conclusion that as elections are scheduled to be held on 08 February, 2024 and last date for allotment of election symbols is 13th January, 2024, so keeping in view the urgency, that a political party has been denuded of its symbol, meaning thereby that aspirants from the general public who were willing to vote for the petitioners' party were divested of their right to vote as per their choice," ARY News reported.
"The office is directed to give notices to all the respondents for 09.01.2024. In the meanwhile, the impugned order dated 22.12.2023 is suspended with further direction to the Election Commission to publish the certificate on its website and restore the election symbol of PTL This order will be operative till 09.01.2024," it added.
On Thursday, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif criticised Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) election symbol, ARY News reported.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Shehbaz Sharif said that the ECP's decision on PTI's intra-party elections was based on facts and questioned the Peshawar High Court's verdict. He asked how the PHC could announce decisions on matters related to the whole nation, according to ARY News report.
Shehbaz Sharif said that the relatives of the judge who announced the verdict are contesting the election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He stressed that the judge should have dissociated himself from the bench and that someone unbiased should have been included on the bench announcing the verdict.