Decision to file review petition after detailed SC verdict on 'bat' symbol, says PTI lawyer

• Intra-party polls internal affair of political parties: Hamid Khan. 
• Says upcoming general elections no longer have "credibility".
• "There isn't any playing field, let alone the level-playing field."

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which lost its 'iconic' election symbol of bat as a result of a Supreme Court ruling yesterday, will decide on whether to file a petition seeking review of the apex court's verdict or not "after the release of a detailed order".

The Imran Khan-founded party on Saturday night took a major blow ahead of the February 8 general elections as the top court deprived it of its sought-after electoral symbol in a ruling on the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) petition.

The country's top poll organising authority had assailed the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) January 10 order, which had provided a relief to the former ruling party by restoring 'bat' as its electoral symbol.

After a day-long hearing, the apex court set aside the PHC's ruling and upheld the December 22 decision of the ECP, that barred the PTI from keeping its electoral symbol for the upcoming polls due to irregularities in their internal polls.

Terming the Supreme Court's ruling “controversial” and it had “deeply" disappointing, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan vowed to file a plea seeking a review of the decision.

However, Hamid Khan, PTI's core member and one of the senior lawyers who represented the party in the apex court proceedings, said on Sunday that the decision on filing the review petition would be made after the release of a written verdict.

"The electoral symbol has been taken away to prevent us [PTI] from getting the reserved seats," Hamid said while speaking on Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan".

He said that the intra-party election — the matter which was the bone of contention between the poll organising body and the PTI — is an internal affair of the party as per the Election Act 2017.

Hamid contended that other parties were given their desired electoral symbols after accepting their internal elections.

He said that they had presented all the fundamental documents for the party polls before the apex court but if small details of the matter are looked into, then finding lackings would be inevitable in every case.

The senior counsel also said that the authorities concerned could have slapped a fine on the PTI if they found any irregularity like it was done in the case of the Awami National Party (ANP).

Speaking about the PTI members who expressed their grievances before the top court on being deprived of the right to contest the intra-party polls, the lawyer said that if anyone had any issues regarding their "expulsion" from the party, they could have gone to civil courts.

"The Supreme Court is not supposed to look into the matter of expulsions," he said, adding that those who opposed the intra-party polls are not party members.

Casting doubts on the transparency of the February 8 elections, Hamid said that the upcoming elections do not have "credibility".

"No credibility is left of the polls when the people are deprived of their right to election," Hamid said.

"There isn't any playing field, let alone the level-playing field," he added.

Battered by subsequent blows, the PTI has expressed the resolve to still contest the polls with all its candidates as independent contenders now, since it no longer has a unified symbol.

The party's election results have a high probability of suffering as different electoral symbols could confuse their voters. 

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