The Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld a ruling by the electoral commission that prohibits the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from designating party candidates for the national election scheduled for February 8th using its famous cricket bat electoral symbol.
His party has attacked the move as an attempt to keep it off the ballot for next month.
The caretaker administration of Anwaar-ul Haq Kakar has distanced itself from the electoral commission's choices, constantly emphasising that it does not want to comment on the functions of a legally autonomous organisation.
The nation of over 241 million people, where the majority of constituencies are in rural areas with low adult literacy rates, depends heavily on election symbols as crucial campaign tools for candidate identification on voting papers.
Imran Khan, the-cricket-hero-turned-Pakistani-prime minister, was ousted in April 2022 by a no-confidence motion in parliament. The 71-year-old deposed leader has subsequently accused the Pakistan's powerful military of being responsible for toppling his administration and the subsequent widespread persecution of his party to prevent it from participating in the election.
In response to Saturday's court ruling, the party statement stated that “PTI cannot go into elections as a party, due to be held February 8 this year. This (court ruling), by far, is the worst decision impacting millions of voters of a party that enjoys the most popular public support. A sad day for democracy”.