Foreign funding case: ECP decides to go ahead with proceedings unless barred by SC

In the backdrop of Prime Minister Imran Khan having recently moved the Supreme Court questioning the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) jurisdiction to hear the foreign funding case, the ECP has decided to go ahead with the proceedings of the case unless barred by the apex court to do so.

On January 25, the PM moved the SC against the Islamabad High Court's (IHC's) order issued on December 4, 2019, in which the court declared Akbar Sher Babar a member of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

In the related petition moved in the SC, the PM took the stance that Akbar S Babar has not been a PTI member since 2011 and therefore the ECP is not authorized to hear the foreign funding case filed by him in the electoral body against the ruling party on the grounds that he is not a PTI member.

The matter has been discussed in the ECP and it has been decided that the commission would maintain status quo and continue the proceedings of the foreign funding case, a source privy to the matter told Business Recorder.

"There is no constitutional or legal bar on the court to continue hearing any case related to which a petition is moved in the superior judiciary unless the court concerned stops the ECP from hearing the said case or issues any stay order. In this case, the apex court has not directed the ECP against hearing the case. So, there is no reason for us not to go ahead with the case's hearing," the source said.

He, however, said the commission would not issue any verdict in the foreign funding case till the PM's petition is decided by the SC. "If the ECP decides foreign funding case and the commission's verdict collides with that of the SC, then the commission's decision will lose legality. Keeping this in view it is better to wait for the court's judgement," the insider said.

The PTI has repeatedly questioned ECP's authority to scrutinize its accounts and took the stance before the Supreme Court in a related case in 2017 that the apex court could constitute a commission to probe allegations of foreign funding.

Akbar Babar in November 2014 had moved the ECP accusing the PTI of being a foreign funded party and seeking action against it in accordance with related constitutional provisions.

In March 2018, the ECP formed the Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise the funds of PTI and to submit its report in a month but the committee has not furnished its report. On October 1, the ECP reserved verdict on four pleas by the PTI which requested the commission to maintain 'secrecy' in the scrutiny of funding' details of the party in the case on the grounds that 'false' news was being leaked about the PTI funds, which, the ruling party said, was an attempt to malign it. On October 10, the ECP announced the reserved verdict and rejected the PTI pleas.

The three-member Scrutiny Committee of the ECP is hearing all important foreign funding case involving the three mainstream political parties; the PTI, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

The Scrutiny Committee is headed by ECP's Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad as its chairman and includes DG (Audit) Defence Services Masood Akhtar Sherwani and Controller Accounts Air Force Muhammad Faheem as its members.