Supreme Court delivers major win for Imran Khan's PTI party as senior leaders allowed to contest elections

In a major relief to Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, the Supreme Court has overturned the rejection of the candidature of its president Parvez Elahi and several other senior leaders by the Lahore High Court and the election tribunal. The three-member bench, headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, allowed Elahi to contest the upcoming general elections from a constituency of the Punjab assembly in his home province (PP-32).

The court also directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to allot Elahi an election symbol and have it included in the ballot papers. In addition to Elahi, the bench also allowed other PTI leaders Umar Aslam, Tahir Sadiq, Sanam Javed, and Shaukat Basra to contest the upcoming general elections. Elahi, a former two-time chief minister of Punjab, had filed his candidature for the general elections but it was rejected by the returning officers, election tribunal, and the Lahore High Court. However, the Supreme Court has declared the decision to reject his nomination papers null and void.

The PTI party, led by Imran Khan, has faced numerous setbacks leading up to the elections, including the rejection of nomination papers of several top leaders, including 71-year-old Khan himself. Overall, the Supreme Court's decision provides a significant boost to PTI's electoral prospects and marks a turn of events after a series of setbacks for the party.