ECP forms new panel to scrutinise PTI accounts

Two members of original committee had refused to attend its first meeting

ISLAMABAD: The full bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) headed by Justice (Retired) Sardar Mohammad Raza on Tuesday ordered formation of a fresh ECP Committee to scrutinise Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) accounts under the foreign funding case.

The order was passed after two members of the original scrutiny committee formed on March 12 had refused to participate in its first meeting scheduled for March 19.  The ECP Scrutiny Committee headed by the Law DG is expected to take one month from its formation to complete the scrutiny and submit its findings to the ECP.

The Chief Election Commissioner announced on Tuesday that the two new members of the Committee would be notified in a day or two when the foreign funding case came up for hearing and the ECP Scrutiny Committee would commence its work from April 3.



He agreed to the request of the petitioner’s counsel Badar Iqbal Chaudhry for providing access to all the PTI documents. The ECP restraining order had become infructuous after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected the PTI writ petition seeking suspension of the ECP scrutiny of PTI accounts.

The case was first filed in November 2014 by a PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar who accused the PTI and its leadership of corruption and illegal funding of the party. The proceedings of the case were delayed for over a year in the ECP as the PTI had filed a writ petition in October 2015 in the IHC seeking to restrain ECP scrutiny of its accounts.

Earlier in February 2017, the IHC remanded the case back to the ECP for a fresh review of its jurisdiction as well as the locus standi of the petitioner Akbar S. Babar. However, a full bench on May 8, 2017 of the ECP once again expressed its complete jurisdiction over the case and stated that the PTI had failed to produce any evidence that Akbar S Babar had been expelled from the party and lost the right to question PTI accounts.