Foreign funding case: ECP serves show cause notice on Imran Khan

Contempt charges would be framed on August 23

ISLAMABAD: A five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan headed by Justice (retd) Sardar Mohammad Raza announced on Thursday a short order serving a show cause notice on Imran Khan for contempt of court.

The contempt charges would be framed on the next date of hearing set for August 23, 2017.

The contempt application was filed by Akbar S Babar, PTI founding member and former central vice president of PTI after Imran accused ECP of political bias in the foreign funding case.



Imran made the allegedly contemptuous statement after the ECP ordered PTI on December 1, 2016 to produce its financial accounts for scrutiny.

Instead of producing the financial accounts, PTI and Imran filed an application on January 9, 2017 accusing the ECP of political bias and refused to comply with the financial document production order.

The petitioner Akbar S Babar filed the contempt application on January 23, 2017 after Imran publicly disowned his lawyers’ unconditional apology before the ECP.

Initially PTI accepted the jurisdiction of the ECP to hear the contempt application. However, after its initial reply was rejected, Imran changed his lawyer to Babar Awan who questioned the jurisdiction of the ECP to hear the contempt application.



The PTI chief, through his counsel Babar Awan, submitted in the tribunal on July 10 that the right to initiate contempt proceedings rests with the Supreme Court and high courts. The electoral body subsequently reserved its judgment on Imran’s petition, challenging the power of the top poll supervisory body to initiate contempt proceedings against him.

In light of the Thursday’s ruling, the tribunal will continue to hear the contempt petition against the PTI chairman.

While announcing the judgement, CEC rejected PTI’s objections regarding its jurisdiction and announced that the ECP had the legal right to hear the contempt case.