IHC reserves verdict on maintainability of PTI plea

Judgment will declare whether ECP can hold further proceedings against PTI chief

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the maintainability of an application requesting it to restrain the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from proceeding further against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in the foreign funding case.

Justice Aamer Farooq reserved the verdict on the application filed in which Khan had said that the ECP had become a party to the proceedings of a case in the Supreme Court and had also passed an order against the PTI while acting as a court.

In the application linked to a petition challenging the ECP’s order of May 8, the PTI argued that the ECP could not simultaneously act as a court and a party under the law in the matter pertaining to foreign funding to PTI.



The PTI once again challenged the jurisdiction of the ECP as well as its order of May 8 and August 16 in the IHC. The court reserved its judgment only over the maintainability of the August 16 order, in which the IHC has been requested to restrain the ECP from proceeding further against Khan.

Moreover, the PTI had filed an application for stay of proceedings before the ECP stating that PTI had filed a petition before the IHC against an order passed by the ECP on May 8. The ECP, however, dismissed the stay application of the PTI on August 16.

Akbar S Babar had approached the ECP alleging that the PTI had violated Article 6 of the Political Parties Ordinance, 2002, for accumulation of party funds from abroad.