PTI Claims Removal of Election Symbol Was Political Injustice and Disrespect to Public Mandate: Sheikh Waqas Akram
Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has claimed that PTI had secured 180 seats in the general elections of February 8, 2024, and that the party’s election symbol was taken away in a tragic event. He described the removal of the symbol as a political injustice and an affront to the people’s mandate.
During a press conference in Peshawar, Akram asserted that PTI members strongly protested during the budget speech by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in the Punjab Assembly, as well as during the speech of the provincial finance minister. He emphasized that the protest was a response to the government’s “anti-people” and “farmer-hostile” budget, which, according to him, posed a threat to the lives of the public.
He stated that PTI lawmakers were merely representing the people’s voice by protesting in the assembly.
Akram also revealed that in retaliation for this protest, 26 PTI members had been suspended for the next 15 sessions, meaning they would be kept away from the assembly for several months. “15 sittings equate to approximately six months of suspension,” he clarified.
He raised questions about how elected representatives, chosen by millions of voters, could be expelled from the assembly merely for protesting. He further claimed that many PTI candidates, who won as independents, later joined the party, and thus, handing over PTI seats to another party was unconstitutional.
اس ناانصافی کی بنیاد اس دن رکھی گئی جس دن ملک کی سب سے بڑی جماعت سے انتخابی نشان چھینا گیا، جس فائز عیسی نے جس دن حلف اٹھایا اسی دن اس کی جانبداری ثابت ہو گئی تھی، ان کے ہر انداز سے عمران خان کے خلاف بغض اور حسد واضح نظر آتا تھا ، پی ٹی آئی سے نشان چھیننا ایک المیہ تھا،ٹیکنیکل… pic.twitter.com/ATQx86E0NK
— PTI (@PTIofficial) June 30, 2025
Akram argued that this injustice began the day PTI’s election symbol was taken away, accusing Justice Qazi Faez Isa of displaying bias from the moment he took office. He criticized the technical issues used to invalidate millions of votes, labeling them as a criminal silence on the false cases, kidnapping of candidates, and the removal of their documents. He added that Justice Isa’s decisions seemed to be motivated by personal vendetta against Imran Khan.
“The removal of PTI’s symbol was a tragedy, and the actions taken against the party were not acts of justice but decisions driven by personal bias,” Akram concluded.
