ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday granted more time to PTI to submit documents related to intra-party elections.

A four-member bench, headed by ECP Member from Sindh Nisar Ahmed Durrani, heard the case. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Faisal Chaudhry represented the party before the bench.

Barrister Gohar informed the ECP that PTI approached the court of law to get back the intra-party election record taken away by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) during a raid at its central office.

The court sought the records, and PTI requested the FIA to provide the record, assuring the court that once received, it would submit copies to the ECP.

The PTI chairman said that the party requested the FIA to return the documents, and they expect to retrieve them within 10 days. Barrister Gohar urged the ECP to extend the deadline for the document submission.

ECP, PTI blame each other for procedural delays

PTI members, including founding member Akbar S. Babar and others who had filed complaints against the March 3 PTI intra-party elections, could not argue their case and were told to reappear on Oct 22, the next date of hearing.

Talking to reporters outside the ECP office, Barrister Gohar expressed the hope that the Commission will recognise PTI’s intra-party elections. He said the elections were conducted as per the ECP’s directives and that the PTI possesses the records in the digital form. He accused the FIA of seizing the poll records from PTI’s central office and urged the ECP to direct the agency to return it to the party.

He said a court notice has been issued to FIA, and once the record is retrieved, the case is likely to reach its conclusion. Shortly after the hearing, ECP spokesperson Durriya Amir held PTI responsible for procedural delays concerning the case and said the party has constantly failed in meeting its constitutional obligations.

In a statement, she said the PTI was initially due to conduct its intra-party elections by June 13, 2021. However, the elections were not held on time. The ECP issued multiple reminders to the party and eventually served a show-cause notice on July 27, 2021. In response, PTI requested a one-year extension, citing the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said the ECP granted the extension, moving the deadline to June 13, 2022. Yet, in June 2022, PTI submitted incomplete intra-party election documents under Form 65.

Despite repeated reminders from the ECP, PTI continued to delay submitting the necessary documents. The ECP showed flexibility throughout the process, granting PTI multiple opportunities to meet its legal obligations.

However, the responsibility for the delay lies on PTI, as the ECP works towards resolving the matter in accordance with the law. The PTI eventually held its intra-party elections on March 3, 2024, but the process was marred by several shortcomings. The ECP served a notice regarding these issues on April 23, 2024, with the first hearing held on April 30, 2024.

Between April and October 2024, the case six hearings took place but PTI repeatedly sought adjournments. This included the latest request for more time during the hearing on Oct 2, 2024, further delaying the resolution of the issue. Talking to reporters PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry refuted the allegations levelled in the ECP statement. He said that the statement reflects the ECP’s bias towards PTI.

He said there were dim hopes of getting impartial decision in the intra-party election case from the ECP. Mr Chaudhry said that since the ECP itself refused to issue directions to FIA to provide record with reference to intra-party elections (that was also taken into its possession during illegal raid on PTI’s central office in July this year) and directed PTI to approach the courts, an application was filed with Special Magistrate of FIA for provision of record and notices have been issued in this regard by the court.

He mentioned that due to the reason that all the record including the documentary evidence, USBs and audio video recordings was taken away by the agency it is certainly not possible to provide assistance till the availability of the requisite record. He also observed that the ECP should not insist on proceeding the case after the Supreme Court’s explanation.

He said the ECP for the sake of propriety and impartiality should rather hear the parties instead of becoming party to the issue.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2024