LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) took action to prevent the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from announcing its final decision regarding contempt proceedings initiated against former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
LHC Justice Waheed Khan issued a directive to the ECP, urging the continuation of the proceedings and requesting LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti to assign the case to a full bench for further hearings.
The PTI chairman had lodged a petition in the LHC, challenging an ECP notification under Section 10 of the Elections Act 2017 and Rule 4 of the Election Rules 2017, which pertain to contempt of the polls supervisor.
The petitioner argued that the initiation of contempt proceedings against him lacked jurisdiction by the ECP secretary and the RCP director general of law, thus requesting that it be declared unconstitutional and unlawful.
ECP conducted a hearing on the contempt case
Meanwhile, in Islamabad, the ECP conducted a hearing on the contempt case involving the PTI chairman, as well as party leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry. However, the PTI chief did not respond to the ECP’s show-cause notice.
A three-member ECP bench, led by member Nisar Durrani, granted the requests for exemption from personal attendance for the three individuals and adjourned the hearing until September 5.
During the proceedings, lawyer Shoaib Shaheen submitted an application regarding the LHC proceedings, while Umar’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor filed a plea related to proceedings on the matter in the Sindh High Court (SHC).
ECP member Ikramullah Khan, present on the bench, mentioned that the SHC had merely halted the issuance of their final decision, whereas the LHC had allowed the proceedings to continue.
Lawyer Shaheen informed the bench that he was denied access to meet the PTI chairman in jail. He stressed that consultation with his client was necessary before submitting a response to the ECP’s show-cause notice.
