IHC keeps ECP warrant against Imran suspended

PTI chief’s counsel claims the poll body cannot initiate contempt proceedings

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday extended its earlier order suspending a bailable arrest warrant issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan in a contempt case.

An IHC bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb said that the “September 20 order shall continue” till the next hearing, meaning the warrant remains suspended.

When the case was taken up on Tuesday, Khan’s counsel Babar Awan sought an adjournment, saying the ECP was expected to announce an order on September 27 (today) and the case might be adjourned until next week. After opposing counsel raised no objection, the court adjourned the case till October 11.



In the previous hearing, the larger bench had suspended the ECP’s order while directing Awan to submit a reply to the show-cause notice duly signed by Khan before the ECP by September 25.

The directions had come after the bench noted that Khan had yet to submit a reply to the ECP’s show-cause notice and a previous reply from the PTI leader submitted before the ECP did not bear his signature.

Khan had, through his counsel, initially approached the IHC stating that the ECP has no power to bring a contempt case against him. When the ECP issued the arrest warrants, Babar had brought this to the court’s notice and the court suspended the ECP’s order.

Babar has been arguing that the Contempt of Court Act 1976 was repealed by the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 and contempt proceedings can only be are carried out through the ordinance.

Babar said that power of contempt before ECP was provided through Section 103A of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1976, and it was not amended to extend into the ordinance of 2003. Unless an amendment is made in Section 103-A, he said, the ECP has no power to initiate contempt proceedings.

He has requested the court to set aside ECP’s order of August 10 and declare all other consequential contempt-related proceedings void.



On August 24, the polls supervisory body had issued a second show-cause notice to Khan after he failed to respond to an earlier notice regarding the contempt of court proceedings against him.

The commission was hearing the contempt of court case against the PTI chief filed by dissident party leader Akbar S Babar.

The PTI chief had initially challenged maintainability of the contempt petition and raised objections to the ECP jurisdiction to initiate contempt proceedings against him.

The commission, however, declared on August 10 that it had the legal right to hear the contempt case and then issued a formal show-cause notice to Khan, seeking a reply by August 23. Later, when Khan did not submit any reply, the ECP issued a second show-cause notice to him on August 24.

Later, the IHC suspended the warrant after Khan’s lawyer assured the bench that his client would reply to the ECP.