PTI moves IHC to restrain ECP in funding case

PTI accuses ECP of bias, demands scrutiny committees for other parties

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other parties named in the intra court appeal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the electoral body's decision to conclude foreign funding case before deciding other cases.

A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah and comprising Justice Babar Sattar, was hearing the party’s plea alleging that the ECP by singling out the PTI expedited scrutiny of its fund while showing leniency towards other political parties.

Although the PTI could not secure an immediate breather in the case, the court nonetheless directed the parties to submit their replies and fixed the intra-court appeal along with other pleas for Thursday.

PTI's counsel Anwar Mansoor appeared before the court and told the bench that while the ECP was holding hearings on a daily basis against the party, cases pertaining to other political parties were not being heard with such rapid pace.

The scrutiny process kicked off together in 2018 and since the complaint against PTI’s funding was older, the ECP intended to decide it before the other cases, he said.

He lamented that the ECP has not even formed scrutiny committees for other parties, claiming the electoral watchdog was acting with partiality against the PTI.

"Our documents were picked up and exposed to the entire world," the counsel said, referring to the ECP's damming report about the findings of its scrutiny panel.

The lawyer prayed the high court to restrain the ECP from announcing its verdict in the PTI's foreign funding case.

The court issued notices to the parties to submit their replies and fixed the appeal for Thursday.

In April, the PTI had challenged the order to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide on the foreign funding case within 30 days.

PTI's Asad Umar filed an intra-court appeal in the IHC against the earlier decision by the court.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had issued a judgment upholding the ECP’s decision to give access to the case's record to the PTI’s founding member Akbar S Babar and not to remove him from the proceedings.

Subsequently, the court suspended its earlier order directing the ECP to decide the foreign funding case against in 30 days.

The PTI had filed petitions on January 25 and 31 regarding the above two requests that were subsequently rejected by the ECP on March 15. The party had then filed a petition challenging the ECP's decision to dismiss the pleas.