SC forms bench on PTI plea seeking restoration of bat symbol
PTI denies AI usage in Imran Khan’s The Economist article, clarifies authorship,
Snatching party symbol is unconstitutional, violation of basic human rights: PTI
Islamabad(M.Muddassar Iqbal)_The Supreme Court has formed a three-member to hear the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s plea seeking the restoration of the bat symbol ahead of the general elections scheduled to take place on February 8.
A three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa would hear the case on Wednesday (tomorrow). Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali are the other two members of the bench.
the former ruling party had approached the apex court against the Peshawar High Court’s decision to restore the Election Commission of Pakistan’s December 22 order which had deemed the PTI’s intra-party polls “unconstitutional” and revoked the party’s ‘bat’ electoral symbol.
But it was not fixed for hearing. On Monday, the SC fixed the PTI’s plea for the restoration of its ‘bat’ electoral symbol for hearing on January 10.
The PTI on Tuesday argued that withdrawing symbol of any political party was a violation of basic rights and unconstitutional, as it is trying to regain “bat” before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) allots symbols to the candidates for the February 8 elections.
No law allows the ECP to make such a decision which leaves a party dysfunctional, Barrister Ali Zafar – the lead counsel for petitioner – said as a two-member bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) started hearing a plea filed by the PTI against the decision on intraparty polls and withdrawal the party symbol.
His client had fully implemented the ECP orders regarding organising intraparty elections within 20 days, he said in his arguments.
However, the ECP counsel was of the opinion that no candidate had been allowed to contest the PTI intraparty polls held on December 2.
Earlier in the day, hearing was suspended twice, forcing the court to remark whether the complainant has any interest in the matter.
It was the absence of PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar which delayed the hearing, who could not reach the court on time, which resulted in Qazi Anwer – one of the counsel representing the petitioner – to request the bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwer and Justice Arshad Ali to suspend the hearing.
As the hearing began, Qazi Anwer, who is assisted by Shah Faisal UtmanKhel, informed the court that the party chairman was on his way from Islamabad and would reach Peshawar soon. To which Justice Ijaz directed him to submit their reply, saying the ECP had already filed its response.
But Gohar wasn’t there after the hearing resumed some time. “Don’t you have any interest,” Justice Ijaz asked, adding, “We reach the Supreme Court [in Islamabad] at 8:30am.”
“What would they have when we will make a decision [on the subject]?” he wondered. But Qazi Anwer insisted that Gohar wasn’t far away.
PTI Appeals to Supreme Court to Reclaim ‘Bat’ Symbol in Last-Ditch Effort
During the hearing, the ECP counsel, Sikandar Mohmand remarked that the person to whom notice was issued hadn’t reached, but his applications were available with the country’s top body responsible for election-related affairs.
However, Gohar and Zafar later reached the court and apologised for the delay, resulting in resumption of hearing.
While,
In an article that went viral on social media, Imran Khan expressed concern that the next general elections will not be held on February 8, this article was also criticized by the caretaker government.
PTI’s central media department took to X (formerly Twitter) and refuted claims circulating on social media that the article was generated using artificial means.
The spox clarified that the article, written by Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated in Rawalpindis Central Jail, was composed without the use of artificial intelligence.
The controversial article, first published last Thursday, has since gained significant traction, being reposted at least seven times on the official X account, amassing over 2.5 million views across social media platforms.
Earlier Imran Khan, speaking to journalists from Adiala Jail, addressed the concerns surrounding the article, stating that he had given verbal instructions for its creation.
He also indicated not having personally penned the article, but rather provided points that were then transformed into written form using artificial intelligence.
