Foreign-funding case: Court says to focus on ECP powers, not allegations

Imran Khan has challenged ECP’s decision to order probe PTI’s audited accounts

ISLAMABAD:

A local court on Thursday clarified that it would only focus on the jurisdiction and procedural powers of the election oversight body not the allegations of foreign funding to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI).

The remark came during the hearing of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decision to probe the party’s audited accounts on allegations of foreign funding.

Akbar Sher Babar, an estranged PTI founding member who developed differences with the party chief over alleged internal corruption and violation of laws to maintain its accounts. He had earlier filed the plea alleging illegal foreign funding of the party before the ECP in November last year.

A division bench comprising Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq remarked that the court had no concern from where the funding came but it intends to see if the legal course of law had been followed or not in the case.

The bench asked Babar’s counsel, Syed Ahmed Hassan Shah, why the ECP was interested in his application and whether the commission decided the issue of maintainability before passing the order.



“Will the Pandora’s box be opened every time, if anyone comes with a fabricated record before the ECP,” remarked Justice Qureshi. “ECP has to act within limits,” he added.

“Can the commission act as a court and take evidence,” asked Justice Farooq, adding if ECP was the sole body to take up such issues.

Shah replied that the ECP was the only body to look into the matter of foreign funding and where there were no set procedures, the law says, a commission decides itself what to do in the case.

In response to the arguments that the ECP had no jurisdiction to order examination of past and closed transactions on a private complainant, he said that the transactions were not past and closed until the next elections, and could be probed.

While countering the argument that the publication of party accounts in the gazette meant that there was no objection in it, Shah said that the documents were open to public.

He also argued that the ECP did not have confined or restricted jurisdiction and it was empowered to organise, conduct and make necessary arrangements for elections.

In this case, Justice Qureshi said to Shah that he was trying to argue that the ECP had legislative powers. “If we grant legislative powers, [the first thing the] ECP will [do, would be to] bar that the courts can’t interfere in ECP’s matters,” he said.

Imran Khan through his counsel Anwar Mansoor Khan has challenged ECP’s decision of scrutiny of record saying that the commission does not have the authority to adjudicate the matter of disputed facts and complaints raised under the Political Parties Order (PPO), 2002.

“Assuming jurisdiction and opening past and closed transactions is in violation of laws,” the counsel had earlier said.

He urged the court to declare that the accounts are past and closed transactions, and that Babar has no locus standi to approach the ECP under Article 6 of the PPO, 2002.

The case was adjourned till January 26.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th,  2015.