Reply sought on plea against funding case

A Lahore High Court division bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi has sought the federal government’s reply on Punjab Minister Murad Raas’s plea challenging dismissal as not maintainable of his petition against an FIA inquiry and notice in the prohibited funding case.

Raas had challenged the inquiry as well as the notice wherein he had been summoned but the court had dismissed it as not maintainable. He then challenged the order in the LHC.

The division bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi heard the intra-court appeal.

The petitioner’s counsel requested the court to restrain the authorities concerned from taking coercive measures against him till the decision on the petition.

The lawyer argued that the matter was political.

Justice Najafi remarked that the court could be approached if there was such an action and rejected the request while seeing reply on be petition by September 14.

Murad Raas stated in his petition that Akbar S Babar had filed a complaint before the Election Commission of Pakistan against PTI on December 14, 2014, alleging “mismanagement and misuse of party funds and other illegal matters in the party”.

The ECP announced its decision on August 2 this year against the PTI in the prohibited funding case.

The petitioner contended that the PTI had disclosed its sources of funding to the ECP and had not concealed any bank account but the commission had failed to appreciate the distinction between two categories of accounts and mentioned certain “accounts disowned by PTI”.

He contended that his understanding was that the PTI had declared all bank accounts relevant to satisfy the requirement of disclosing “sources of funds” as a political party.

Therefore, bank accounts wherein funding for the PTI was received had been disclosed to the ECP for the period 2008 to 2013.

It has come to the knowledge of the appellant that the PTI has also challenged the ECP order before the Islamabad High Court.

He stated the immediately after the issuance of the ECP’s order, the federal interior minister had tweeted that action would be taken in its light and the persons involved would be placed on the Exit Control List.

The petitioner received a call-up notice apparently pertaining to an alleged account apparently ‘disowned by the PTI’.