ECP to hear plea for Imran’s removal today

Today, the country's polls oversight authority will hear a petition seeking removal of former prime minister Imran Khan as the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will also hear an application requesting the authority not to assign an election symbol to the former ruling party for the upcoming elections.

According to a cause list issued on Monday, a five-member bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Sikandar Sultan and comprising the ECP’s four provincial members, will hear these petitions.

The petition for the removal of Imran Khan as head of the PTI party was filed by Khalid Mehmood Khan.
The ECP in November last year disqualified the PTI chief as a lawmaker for one term in view of an omission on his part to mention the gifts he acquired from the official gift repository during his term as the prime minister in his statement of assets and liability.

When a trial court on August 5 convicted Imran Khan in the same case, the ECP also issued a notification stating that the former premier stood disqualified for five years.

Another application listed for hearing seeks action against the PTI “as the party is still receiving funds from foreign entities". The petition is also moved by Khalid Mehmood Khan.

The application that requests the ECP to declare the PTI party as ineligible to obtain an election symbol is filed by Imran Khan’s former aide Awan Chaudhry under Section 215(4) of the Election Act, 2017 read with Election Rules, 2017.

The same bench will also hear a petition filed against former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry for alleged use of derogatory language against the polls oversight authority.