ECP to hear PTI petition today

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will hear Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)'s petitions accusing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of illegal and unlawful funding today (Tuesday) while the Supreme Court (SC) also last week asked the electoral body to look into accounts of political parties.

The SC bench observed that for undertaking such scrutiny, it shall be reasonable for the Election Commission to examine the accounts of a political party for five years after it is published in the official gazette.

In two separate complaints filed with the Election Commission, PTI leader Farrukh Habib has accused both PML-N and PPP of concealing their sources of funds and companies, registered by them in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively, and sought cancellation of election symbols allocated to them for their alleged failure to meet legal requirements for eligibility to obtain the symbols.

Already, PTI has been facing investigations at the Election Commission since November 2014 for alleged irregularities in foreign funding. It had challenged the commission’s jurisdiction instead of presenting the relevant record to it. The five-member bench of the Election Commission will hear these petitions. Meanwhile, the Election Commission Monday gave time to PTI until December 27 to submit details of its intra-party elections.