Pakistan's Election Commission on Thursday ordered jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to hold elections within the party within 20 days to retain the bat as its election symbol.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did not conduct transparent elections as per the constitution. The commission had in August given an ultimatum to PTI to conduct the elections otherwise it could be disqualified from obtaining the election symbol. The elections were scheduled to be held on June 13, 2021, under the party's constitution, but were extended by a year. Gauhar Ali Khan, representing PTI, had said that the party's elections were held before the amendment in the Constitution.

However, the Chief Election Commissioner claimed that PTI amended its constitution on June 8, 2022 and held elections within the party on June 10, 2022. Khan also said that the amendment to the party constitution was later withdrawn, Dawn newspaper reported.

A special court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered authorities to produce jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi before the Federal Judicial Complex on November 28 for hearing in the cipher case.

Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain issued the direction while hearing the case at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) after the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday declared the jail trial against the duo invalid on procedural grounds.

A two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court reserved its verdict on Khan's inter-court appeal against the decision of a single bench of the same court which had dismissed the case filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against his trial in Rawalpindi's high-security Adiala jail. PTI) The party president's appeal was rejected. On Thursday, the judge sought a copy of the Islamabad High Court order and summoned Khan and Qureshi on November 28 and adjourned the hearing of the case till then.