PTI counsel fails to appear before IHC

Case continues today; party has once again challenged ECP jurisdiction


Our Correspondent August 29, 2017
PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: Counsel for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Anwar Mansoor Khan could not appear before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday in relation to a petition filed by party chief Imran Khan against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) orders about the party’s foreign funding.

The court, therefore, adjourned the hearing of the petition till today (Tuesday).

PTI moves IHC against ECP order, jurisdiction

The PTI has once again challenged jurisdiction of the ECP as well as its May 8 and August 16 orders related to a case filed by the PTI’s disgruntled leader Akbar S Babar.

Babar had approached the ECP and alleged that the PTI had violated Article 6 of the Political Parties Order (PPO), 2002 for collecting party funds from abroad.

In the order passed on May 8, the ECP dismissed the PTI’s objection about its jurisdiction and held that it had all and plenary jurisdiction to go into and scrutinise accounts of any political party.

PTI again moves IHC seeking stay over ECP proceedings

The ECP order read that the PTI counsel could not produce any direct authority to the effect that the record of the commission could not be gone into or scrutinised by the ECP itself.

Later, on August 16, the ECP also dismissed an application of the PTI, seeking stay of the proceedings before the ECP on the plea that the PTI had filed a petition before the IHC against the ECP’s May 8 order.

In his petition filed in the IHC, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has challenged the ECP’s May 8 decision, saying the ECP does not have jurisdiction under the PPO to adjudicate on the complaints filed by citizens.

Foreign funding case: IHC declines PTI’s request to stay ECP proceedings

Imran has claimed that the PPO does not provide framework of a tribunal for adjudication of complaints and scrutiny of accounts. He has said the accounts submitted by the petitioner are past and closed transaction.

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