PTI withdraws plea seeking contempt proceedings against electoral watchdog from SC

The PTI on Monday withdrew its plea seeking contempt proceedings against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for allegedly not implementing the Supreme Court’s orders of providing the party with a level playing field for the upcoming general elections.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has withdrawn its petitions related to the contempt plea against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Supreme Court. The party’s decision comes after the apex court upheld the ECP’s decision to declare the PTI’s intra-party polls “unconstitutional,” resulting in the loss of its ‘bat’ symbol. As a consequence, PTI members will contest the elections as independents with different symbols, losing the right to reserved seats for women and minorities. The party withdrew its petitions, expressing no confidence in the ECP, and the SC disposed of the plea based on the withdrawal. PTI leader Latif Khosa lamented the impact on democracy, citing arrests and snatched nomination papers. Khosa asserted that the intra-party polls were conducted within the ECP’s given timeframe and criticized the credibility of those challenging the elections.