ECP resumes hearing of PTI polls case today

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has fixed the intra-party elections case of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for hearing today (Tuesday) after a gap of weeks.

The ECP will resume hearing the case, for which notices have been issued to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali and the party’s Chief Election Commissioner Raoof Hassan. Similarly, the ECP also issued notices to all the petitioners, including Akbar S. Babar, who is founding member and former information secretary of the party. It should be noted that the intra-party elections matter has been pending in the ECP since March 2024. The commission has held at least eight hearings so far.

The committee emphasized that, with the fourth quarter of the fiscal year underway, it would closely monitor and prioritize the allocation of future TSGs to ensure efficient utilization of government resources.

According to the ECP website, PTI remains without its chairman and its election symbol suspended due to ‘non-approval’ of the intra-party elections by the electoral body. During the previous hearing, Babar had urged the ECP to hear final arguments and issue its judgement but the Chief Election Commission-led ECP bench maintained that this could not be done in view of PTI’s petition before the Lahore High Court (LHC) and its order, barring issuance of the final judgement. Gohar had repeatedly called for issuance of certificate by the ECP, claiming they had held the party polls in the most transparent way, whereas Babar continues to question the electoral process.