'Kettle, chimta': PTI leaders allotted electoral symbols after party deprived of bat

• Electoral symbol significant for voters to identify candidates.
• Majority of constituencies in rural areas have low literacy.
• Kettle symbol will represent Barrister Gohar Ali Khan in NA-10.

On an electoral map, the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) appear haphazardly strewn, as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) alloted separate electoral symbols to them which could confuse their voters as the party was stripped of the iconic ‘bat’ symbol.

Imran Khan-led PTI suffered a major blow on Saturday after the Supreme Court annulled the Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict and approved the ECP's plea to declare the PTI's intra-party "unconstitutional," depriving the party of its electoral symbol just weeks ahead of the February 8 polls. 

A party's electoral symbol on ballot papers is significant for voters to be able to identify its candidates in the nation of 241 million people, where the majority of the constituencies are in rural areas with low literacy.

Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa announced the ruling in a live late-night telecast of the proceedings on the top court's website.

After the court verdict, the PTI members will contest the elections as independent candidates. Some of the main PTI leaders who will contest elections on different symbols from Lahore are Yasmin Rashid from NA-130 with symbol ‘laptop’, Salman Akram Raja on NA-128 with ‘racquet’, Latif Khosa has been given English letter ‘K’ for NA-122 and Mian Azhar given ‘wicket’ for NA-129, according to Geo News.

PTI senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s children Mehr Bano Qureshi and Zain Hussain Qureshi have been allotted electoral symbols chimta (tongs) for NA-151 and shoe for NA-150 constituencies of Multan, respectively.

Umair Niazi will fight the election with the symbol ‘door’ on Mianwali’s NA-90 seat. Shoaib Shaheen joins the fray with the graceful 'dove' as his election symbol to contest elections in Islamabad’s NA-46 constituency.

‘Piyala’ (bowl) will represent Shandana Gulzar in NA-30 constituency of Peshawar and ‘kettle’ will represent Barrister Gohar Ali Khan in NA-10 constituency of Buner.

Jamshed Dasti, who is contesting on two National Assembly seats from Muzaffargardh, has been allotted ‘harmonium’ for NA-175 seat and ‘aeroplane’ for NA-176.

On the other hand, PMLN has been allotted the ‘lion’ symbol, PPPP ‘arrow’, JI ‘scale’, PTI-Nazaryati ‘batsman’, IPP ‘eagle’, MQM-P ‘kite’ and TLP allotted ‘crane’.

January 13 was the last date for allotment of electoral symbols to candidates for the February 8 general elections.