PTI Withdraws Request to Supreme Court for ‘Bat’ Provision

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has withdrawn its plea filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, seeking the reinstatement of its iconic ‘bat’ election symbol. The decision to retract the appeal was made by Imran Khan’s party prior to the scheduled hearing. Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Hamid Khan maintained that the appeal is already slated for consideration before the Peshawar High Court.

As a result, the PTI council requested the apex court to withdraw the petition citing ongoing cases. Initially, a 3-member panel consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Musarrat Hilali was set to address the case related to Imran Khan’s party’s electoral symbol.

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The PTI had approached the apex court after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) revoked the party’s iconic election symbol due to issues in the intra-party election process. The PTI contested this decision in the Supreme Court, while a parallel case was underway in the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

During the PHC hearing, PTI’s counsel argued that the electoral watchdog exceeded its authority by annulling the party’s intra-party election and withdrawing the bat symbol. The party’s counsel contended that the ECP had initially declared the intra-party election valid.

In response, the ECP lawyer asserted that the commission had the authority to ensure transparent elections and, if it identified any irregularities, could declare the intra-party elections invalid.

Following the arguments, the court adjourned the hearing until the next day at 9 am.