‘Terrorist group can’t be given electoral symbol’: Maryam begins electioneering with PTI's 'bat' saga

OKARA: In a scathing criticism of the former ruling party — Pakistan Tehreeke-e-Insaf (PTI) — amid its electoral symbol woes, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President Maryam Nawaz Monday said that a “terrorist group” could not be given a political party’s electoral symbol, Geo News reported.

Kicking off the party’s election campaign for the upcoming February 8 polls, the PML-N chief organiser fired a fresh salvo against Khan’s party dubbing it as a group of terrorists for orchestrating and carrying out May 9 violent attacks.

“Your electoral symbol should be the watch that you stole or the petrol bomb that you hurled on police officials [...] what goes around comes around,” she said while taking a jibe at the former prime minister’s disqualification in the Toshakhana case after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) found the PTI founder guilty of corrupt practices.

“Your electoral symbol was not bat but baton with which you attacked military instalments. The baton has been snatched from your hand,” she maintained.

Maryam said the PTI was facing was a result of what they sowed against others. Imran was used to being a blue-eyed boy, she said. She said neither the PML-N nor Nawaz was taking revenge on the PTI, she said.

The one who used to call others thieves himself stole watches from the Toshakhana, she said.

“The facility to get [desired] verdicts by calling [judge’s] mother-in-law is not available anymore,” Maryam claimed, adding that they should ask their lawyers to appear in court fully prepared.

Maryam said they would have thought they could win an election like 2018 by shutting down the RTS button. The facility was no longer available, she said. She said his umpires and forgery both were exposed.

Luring the rally’s participants to vote for the PML-N, she said the faster and more you vote for the party the sooner you will become prosperous, inflation will drop and utility bills will be deflated.

“You have to stamp the lion symbol on election day. Stamp on lion symbol on February 8 to make the country rich. Our government’s entire focus will be on cutting inflation. My main focus will be on improving youth’s future,” she said. 

The Imran Khan-founded party on Saturday night took a major blow ahead of the February 8 general elections as the top court deprived it of its sought-after electoral symbol in a ruling on the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) petition.

The country's top poll organising authority had assailed the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) January 10 order, which had provided a relief to the former ruling party by restoring 'bat' as its electoral symbol.

After a day-long hearing, the apex court set aside the PHC's ruling and upheld the December 22 decision of the ECP, that barred the PTI from keeping its electoral symbol for the upcoming polls due to irregularities in their internal polls.