Politics

PTI’s petition against ECP notice in prohibited funding case rejected

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

The Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) on Thursday dismissed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition against the ruling of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the prohibited funding case.

In August 2022, the election commission issued a show-cause notice to the PTI after it concluded that the party received funding from prohibited sources. The notice was later challenged in the IHC.

A larger bench of the IHC — comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Miangul Hassan and Justice Babar Sattar — had reserved its verdict on January 11 after arguments were completed.

The verdict was announced verbally.

During the hearing, the court had observed that the ECP’s responsibility was merely to do what the Constitution permitted — which was limited to the confiscation of funds.

While the ECP during the hearing claimed that it had no power to change its decision, the court had observed that should the PTI present in the court satisfactory evidence — proving the legitimacy of the funds — the amount would not be confiscated.

The PTI counsel had argued during that hearing that the ECP had declared it a “foreign-aided” party and had rejected the declaration of PTI chief Imran Khan false.

“Political parties’ finances are looked after by a chartered accountant,” he argued. “The ECP has targeted PTI.”

The chief justice had said that the ECP had not made any declaration in its report, “the decision of the ECP is sometimes called an order, sometimes a report and sometimes just an opinion. In my opinion, this was a fact-finding report,” he said.

However, the ECP’s representative insisted that it was not just a report but a decision.

“The ECP could not have issued a show-cause notice without giving a decision,” he said.

During a hearing of the case, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said: “Are you afraid that Imran Khan will be disqualified on this issue? The ECP will not make any declaration in this show-cause notice, nor will take criminal action against Khan. Its authority extends only to the extent of confiscation of funds.”

Moreover, the court in the previous hearing had also criticised the ECP for taking the matter to the federal government, as doing so had led to a number of cases being registered against PTI by the FIA.

Now, if the court rules in favour of PTI, the notice will be retracted and the cases against the party will be withdrawn. It is also likely that the court will advise the electoral body to reassess the matter.

PTI challenges ECP ruling

On August 10 last year, the PTI challenged the ECP’s ruling in the IHC, seeking annulment of the order in the prohibited funding case.

In his petition filed with the IHC, PTI Additional Secretary-General Omar Ayub asked the court to not only nullify the August 2 ruling, but also revoke the ECP’s show-cause notice sent to PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

The petitioner said he was “grossly aggrieved” by the fact-finding report — which revealed that the PTI had obtained funds from foreign sources — and demanded that it be declared “perverse, incorrect and in excess of authority and jurisdiction”.

In his petition, Ayub also asked the court to “declare that any action suggested by the ECP is beyond its authority and that no action can be taken on the basis of a fact-finding report”.

The PTI also made the ECP a party in the case.

ECP verdict in prohibited funding case

On August 2, 2022, the ECP, in a unanimous verdict, announced that the PTI received prohibited funding. The case was earlier referred to as the “foreign funding” case, but later the election commission accepted the PTI’s plea to refer to it as the “prohibited funding” case.

The commission found that donations were taken from America, Australia, Canada and the UAE.

The PTI received funds from 34 individuals and 351 businesses including companies, the ECP verdict stated.

Thirteen unknown accounts also came to light, said the commission in the verdict, adding that hiding accounts are a “violation” of Article 17 of the Constitution.

The funds were also in violation of Article 6 of the Political Parties Act.

Moreover, the ECP found that Khan submitted a false Nomination Form I and that the affidavit provided regarding party accounts was also not authentic.

Latest News

I will resign from office if the new roti pricing cannot be implemented. The Gandapur

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared on Wednesday that he would see to it that the new roti pricing was enforced throughout the province, threatening to resign from his position if he was unable to accomplish so.

The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa announced that a second PDM2 test was being carried out while speaking with media outside the court.

“The country is unable to support any such experiments. All eyes were on the PDM-1 outcome. Where is this nation now? Say no more to plunging the nation into darkness “…

“Everyone knows what the caretaker government did with the country?” Speaking from experience, he counseled the authorities to make decisions based on wisdom and caution. Keep the nation in mind.

“Avoid doing any additional experiments, such as the London Plan. Think about the people who are crying because of inflation,” he continued.

We also launched health cards in Punjab, but you completed that project, stated the chief minister of KP. We are going to apply the lower roti rates that we have agreed upon. I will resign as chief minister if I am unable to accomplish this,” he declared resolutely.

Gandapur attacked Maryam Nawaz’s administration and said that it was visible on Tiktok, criticizing the Punjabi government. As long as a deal was made for the general good, he declared, he would not protest.

A court against terrorism in Islamabad heard a case earlier today about violence and ransacking at the Judicial Complex against PTI leaders and others. In the anti-terrorism court, the case was handled by Judge Tahir Abbas Supra.

The pretrial release of Chief Minister Gandapur and several others was prolonged by the anti-terrorism court till April 27.

Latest News

PTI will hold a sit-in to demand the release of the party founder.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

Marwat claimed that legal processes and political battle were necessary for the PTI founder’s release from prison.

Regarding the choice to start protests after April 21, the PTI leader stated that both the party and the former prime minister agreed.

If the government tried to use force to stop the party workers from protesting across cities, Marwat claimed that the PTI might start a march towards Islamabad.

According to Marwat, the party was thinking of bringing back a number of its leaders who had declared their intention to leave the PTI after the riots on May 9.

Imran Khan stated that two to three people might be permitted to rejoin the party, even though no criteria has been established for reuniting those who left following the May 9 riots.

The PTI leader went on to say that there is a strong belief that anybody who made a statement criticizing the party shouldn’t be allowed to join it.

Usman Dar stated that his family has suffered greatly and that his name has come up. He also mentioned that Aon Abbas, Maleeka Bokhari, and Ali Nawaz Awan are among those that the PTI believes should be taken back.

The PTI leader spoke on Fawad Chaudhry, saying that although the former party chief has tried to re-join the group, party members are opposed to it.

Former Finance Minister Asad Umar allegedly left the party after receiving a guarantee to be freed from the cipher case, according to Sher Afzal Marwat.

The PTI chief disclosed that he had made an effort to persuade the party hierarchy to reinstate Umar; however, Imran Khan declined.

Latest News

NAB clears Nawaz Sharif in the Toshakhana case

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

According to specifics, the Accountability Court (AC) received a report from the accountability bureau about the Toshakhana reference.

According to the NAB inquiry report, Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), did not use a fictitious account to pay the money needed to purchase the car from Toshakhana.

The investigation told the court that although the car was turned over to Toshakhana in 1997, Nawaz did not own it at the time of its 2008 purchase.

Furthermore, in the Toshakhana reference, the accountability court has the power to exonerate former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

It is important to note that in January 2020, the executive board members authorized three references against former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gillani, as well as former president Asif Ali Zardari, regarding the charges during a meeting presided over by Justice Retd Javed Iqbal, who was then the chairman of the NAB.

In addition, a complaint was brought against Anwar Majeed and Abdul Ghani Majeed for failing to pay the taxes on the high-end cars that were imported through Toshakhana.

According to the reference, the former president paid the tax amounts on the opulent cars that were gifts from the UAE and Libya using fictitious bank accounts rather than giving them to Toshakhana.

According to the report, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani extended undue favors to the president, and Nawaz Sharif was permitted to give Asif Zardari the cars during his administration.

It is important to note that the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the PTI head for making “false statements and incorrect declaration,” which led to the Toshakhana issue becoming a major political sticking point in the country.

According to Articles 167 and 173 of the constitution, the former premier was determined to have engaged in corrupt activities, according to the ruling. “He will be the target of a criminal investigation for making a false statement.”