ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday rejected the review petition of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wherein the electoral body directed the respondent and the petitioner to nominate two chartered accountants each in foreign funding case.

In addition, the ECP also upheld the decision to allow Akbar Sher Babar, the petitioner against PTI, to see the record submitted by PTI in the case, but only in front of scrutiny committee.

In a related development, the proceedings of scrutiny committee that hears foreign funding case were disrupted as the panel did not allow Babar to use laptop during the proceedings. The panel rejected Babar’s request to be allowed to use laptop to ‘record’ case proceedings. Babar then filed a new petition in ECP against the scrutiny committee’s decision to deny him access to laptop at the case proceedings.

On April 14, the ECP upheld the Scrutiny Committee’s decision and rejected Babar’s petition seeking to be handed over the record of PTI’s finances while allowing the petitioner to review the record only in front of scrutiny committee. The commission also directed the respondent and the petitioner to nominate two chartered accountants each in foreign funding case. It directed the scrutiny committee to complete proceedings of foreign funding case by the coming May 31.

On April 19, PTI’s counsel Shah Khawar filed review petition in ECP against its April 14 decision. The ruling party took the stance that appointing chartered accountants in the case at this stage would cause it to further delay.

On March 30, the Scrutiny Committee submitted a report to ECP wherein it categorically accused Babar of repeatedly filing ‘frivolous petitions’ causing delay in the conclusion of the case proceedings. The scrutiny committee was of the view that the petitioner was repeatedly filing new petitions in the case on frivolous pretexts which was the main reason the case was still pending.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021