ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Wednesday, reserved its verdict in Akbar S Babar’s application to become a party in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s fact-finding report in prohibited funding case against the party.

A three-member bench of IHC headed by Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Babar Sattar heard the petition filed by the PTI additional secretary general Omar Ayub to declare the ECP’s decision dated August 2 as illegal.

During the hearing, the bench heard the plea of Babar who filed the application before the court to become a party in the PTI’s petition against the ECP and reserved the verdict in this connection.

Previously, Anwar Mansoor informed the bench about the case, saying that the funding case was taken to the ECP by a former PTI leader and the matter also came under consideration in the Supreme Court in 2017 during the hearing of the Hanif Abbasi case. He further said that in 2018, the ECP started scrutiny when the SC said that all political parties should be scrutinised by the election watchdog. But, he claimed that only the PTI was being targeted.

The PTI has prayed to the court to suspend the operation of the impugned Fact Finding Report dated 02.08.2022 of the ECP and suspend the show cause notice dated 05.08.2022, issued by it.

The PTI also requested the court to declare that the said Fact Finding Report is perverse, incorrect and in excess of authority and jurisdiction. It further prayed to declare that any action suggested by the ECP is beyond authority and that no action can be taken on the basis of the said Fact Finding Report.

The petitioner further requested the court to declare that holding that, “the matter falls within the ambit of Article 17(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, Article 6(3) and Article 2(c)(iii) of the PPO 2002” is Illegal and in excess of authority and jurisdiction.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022