Filing a plea before the apex court under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, the petitioner had alleged that Imran Khan had acquired funds from prohibited sources to fund the party's political activities, including mobilization of party activists to engage in civil disobedience and destruction of state property.
During the adjudication of the matter, a three-member bench of the Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on May 3 allowed the petitioner's counsel's request to implead ECP as a party to the case as Abbasi mistakenly wrote Chief Commissioner instead of ECP in the list of respondents.
The Commission's official stated that in Hanif Abbasi petition against PTI Chief Imran Khan, the petitioner made the ECP a party because ECP is responsible to maintain the annual asset and liability details of parliamentarians. He added that the Supreme Court may ask the ECP to provide details of Imran Khan's annual assets and liabilities submitted each year.
He further said it is not ECP's domain to disqualify any member of parliament and in the past Yousaf Raza Gilani, Sumaira Malik and other members were disqualified on the directives of the court of law and ECP only served notices of disqualification. Citing as example, he said the ECP banned PTI's contesting candidate to use 'bat' as election symbol in the bye-election in Chakwal as PTI had failed to hold intra-party elections. However, PTI obtained stay order against ECP's decision.
Talking to Business Recorder, former vice president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Ikram Chaudhry emphasised the need for implement the existing laws in the country. Chaudhry maintained that selection of a proper forum for remedy in a case is important for a litigant.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017