Islamabad: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa has said that the apex court will not take over the responsibilities of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The observations came on Friday as a three-member Supreme Court bench — comprising the CJP, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali — took up the ECP’s petition challenging the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) decision to restore the PTI’s iconic ‘bat’ election symbol.
The proceedings were broadcast live on the apex court’s website.
The CJP observed that democracy was a fundamental right, which should be present in both a country and a political party.
“Every citizen has a fundamental right to vote for a political party of its choice and every political party member has the same right too,” the top judge remarked.
CJP Isa, however, said the SC was willing to hear the case on Saturday and Sunday as adjourning the hearing would mean the PHC order would have to be suspended.
The ECP’s counsel then sought time till Saturday to prepare for the case.
On Dec 22, the election commission had barred the PTI party from keeping its ‘bat’ symbol for the upcoming February elections, citing irregularities in their internal polls that did not comply with the party’s own constitution and election laws.
Following the ECP’s decision, the PTI challenged it in the PHC. A single-member judge granted temporary relief, reinstated the bat symbol, and referred the case to a larger bench for a hearing on January 9.
