ISLAMABAD: In a move that raises eyebrows, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to hold the contempt case trial of former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-party leader Fawad Chaudhry in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, instead of ECP headquarters, after the caretaker federal government declined to accept the poll body’s order to bring Khan to the ECP in the contempt case.
The four-member ECP bench on Wednesday issued four orders, two each of Khan and Chaudhry, reserved on November 30, over contempt of the ECP and chief election commissioner.
The bench fixed December 13 as the date for framing charges on two politicians in Adiala Jail, and asked the Interior Ministry to notify the said jail trial and fulfill the requisite legal formalities within two days.
The bench comprises of Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Babar Hassan Bharwana and former Justice Ikramullah Khan.
Different public and political circles have lambasted the ECP and the caretaker government for their inability in ensuring foolproof security to Khan, the former PM, for his trial at the ECP headquarters instead of jail.
On November 30, Advocate Shoaib Shaheen, Khan’s counsel in the contempt case, informed the ECP bench that the authorities concerned continued to violate the ECP directives by not presenting the ex-PM before the commission in the contempt case.
The bench members informed the defence lawyer that the Interior Ministry presented a report to the bench citing life threats to Khan being a major reason for not bringing him to ECP from Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
Apart from that, Faisal Chaudhry, the brother and counsel of Fawad Chaudhry, informed the bench in November 30 hearing that Fawad was also locked up in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. He said that Fawad was not facing any security threats, urging the bench to order the authorities to produce him in the next hearing.
Another former PTI leader Asad Umar appeared before the bench and submitted an affidavit affirming that he quit politics, urging the poll body to drop contempt proceedings against him. The bench adjourned the case till December 6.
On October 19, the poll body issued two production orders of Khan, over ECP and CEC’s contempt, for framing charges against him in the contempt case on October 24.
However, on the given date, what appeared to be an embarrassment for ECP, the caretaker government declined the commissions’ directives to produce Khan before the poll body in the contempt case — instead — a report submitted by the Interior Ministry recommended to the ECP to hold the proceedings of the contempt case in Adiala Jail citing serious security threats to Khan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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