ECP decision may affect polls credibility: PPP

LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former Senate chairman Main Raza Rabbani Friday said the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision barring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to contest the polls on the symbol of ‘bat’ could raise questions on the credibility of elections.

“It would have been better if PTI was allotted bat,” he said, while talking to The News. Raza Rabbani called for a level playing field for all the political parties, including the PTI.

PPP leader Sharjeel Inam Memon stated that such things were not new for them as the PPP had faced similar situations many a times in the past. He said the PPP was deprived of its election symbol ‘arrow’ and it also had to face a ban and come up with a new name i.e. PPP-Parliamentarians.

Sharjeel said the PTI had faced quite a lenient treatment, which was visible in the foreign funding case when a party, which received funding from India and Israel and did not disclose its accounts, was spared.

He said the PTI used institutions for its own objectives. Imran, he said, was brought through unfair means to power and people’s mandate was hijacked through horse-trading. The PPP leader stated that he was not supporting a ban on any political party but the PTI itself destabilised the country while it was in power. Former federal minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Azam Nazir Tarar said the PTI was not the only party whose election symbol had been withdrawn. The former law and justice minister said the ECP had full authority to decide. He said that when rules were made, they should be followed. In the past, election symbols of PMLN and PPP were also withdrawn. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Secretary General Ameerul Azeem termed the ECP decision victmisation and said the party which was not even allowed to hold a corner meeting was taken to task for not holding the intra-party polls. He termed the ECP decision disappointing.