A day after an unsuccessful attempt to retain its iconic electoral symbol, the ‘bat,’ Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) commenced its campaign for the upcoming national-level polls with a rally led by central leader Sher Afzal Marwat at Karachi’s Sea View beach.
Thank you Karachi! https://t.co/8WpA5FhgsA
— Sher Afzal Khan Marwat (@sherafzalmarwat) January 14, 2024
The PTI, founded by Imran Khan, lost the legal battle as the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday, leading to the party losing its electoral symbol, which symbolized Imran Khan’s life as a cricketer, just days before the general elections on February 8.
Following the Supreme Court’s verdict, the deadline for the allotment of electoral symbols expired, and the ECP assigned different symbols to PTI candidates, who will now participate as independent contenders in the upcoming elections.
In Karachi, Marwat led the party’s first election rally with a significant number of participants at Sea View, a popular picnic point for the city’s residents, as reported by Geo News. PTI leader Raja Azhar announced the gathering and expressed dissatisfaction with the police placing barricades on the routes to the venue.
Read more: Radio, shower, wicket among electoral symbols allotted to PTI leaders
Later, the traffic police clarified that the main track along the Sea View beach was temporarily blocked due to the political rally but was restored soon after. They stated that there were no barricades on the roads leading to the spot anymore.
The PTI faced a setback when the Supreme Court overturned the Peshawar High Court’s January 10 order, which had temporarily restored the ‘bat’ as the party’s electoral symbol, based on the ECP’s plea.
Read more: PTI announces list of Candidates: Big names opt out