Declaring Prime Minister Imran Khan’s petition in the ongoing foreign funding case as maintainable, the Supreme Court on Thursday served a notice on Akbar S. Babar, the applicant in the case.
A two-member bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam took up the petition. Khan’s counsel, Anwar Mansoor Khan, in his argument, said the prime minister had no objection to the scrutiny committee formed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Babar was expelled from the party before filing the case, but ECP declared he was still a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said. “ECP has no right to declare Akbar S Babar as PTI member.”
The court after hearing initial arguments admitted the request for the hearing and sought a response from Babar.
Last week, the petition was moved on behalf of the prime minister against the ECP declaration that was upheld by the Islamabad High Court in December 2019.
The petition had requested that the high court had indulged in fact-finding and argued that the IHC decision came without defining the ambit and power of the ECP.
The ECP, the petition alleged, had acted as a court of law or a tribunal and travelled beyond the scope of prayer rather extended its jurisdiction in matters of factual controversy, in contravention of the settled law.
