ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will on Thursday (today) resume the hearing of a petition seeking the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on charges of collecting party funds from “prohibited” sources.

In May, an ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) retired Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza had turned down Mr Khan’s request to adjourn the petition indefinitely on the grounds that a similar petition had been taken up by the Supreme Court.

The petitioner, Hashim Ali Bhutta, had filed the plea in a personal capacity, but the PTI believes he is being backed by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Under the country’s laws, a political party cannot receive funds from foreign individuals or organisations. All party chiefs are required to submit a declaration to the ECP in this regard while submitting details of their party assets.

Mr Bhutta had attached some documents to his petition which support his claims that the PTI had received around $3 million through various sources in Texas and California.

Mr Bhutta’s counsel, Sharafat Chaudhry, had argued that Mr Khan had submitted a certificate of 2010 to 2015 stating that the PTI had not collected funds through any “prohibited means”, whereas his client had evidence which proved otherwise.

Representing the PTI chief, Advocate Shahid Gondal informed the commission that a similar petition had been filed in the Supreme Court by former PML-N MNA Hanif Abbasi. He requested the ECP to adjourn the hearing indefinitely as the petitions were identical in nature.

Expressing annoyance over the PTI chief’s failure to submit a reply, Justice Raza said if the party had submitted its reply to the apex court it could do the same before the ECP. The CEC offered to consider the PTI lawyers’ request for a long adjournment only after receiving a response from the PTI chairman.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

IHK resolution
Updated 08 Nov, 2024

IHK resolution

If the BJP administration were to listen to Kashmiris, it could pave the way for the resumption of the political process in IHK.
Climate realities
08 Nov, 2024

Climate realities

THE Air Quality Index in Lahore once again shot past the 1,000-level mark on Wednesday morning, registering at an...
Rule by fear
08 Nov, 2024

Rule by fear

THE abduction of an opposition MNA, as claimed by PTI, is yet another grim episode in Pakistan’s ongoing crisis of...
Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...