Foreign funding case: Imran moves SC against IHC order

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday moved the Supreme Court against the Islamabad High Court's Dec 4, 2019 order in the foreign funding case, declaring Akbar S Babar as a member of the ruling PTI.

Imran filed the appeal under Article 185(3) of the Constitution, praying the court to grant leave to appeal against the IHC order. He made the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as well as Akbar Sher Babar as respondents.

In the petition, Imran says Akbar S Babar has not been a part of the party since 2011. He argued that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had no right to hear the case as Babar was not a member of the PTI.

He said the IHC had ignored the decisions of the apex court as well. The premier in the petition also stated that the IHC had declared Babar as a member of the party. He clarified that Babar had sent an email in which he had stated that he had left the party, adding that the email was on record.

Imran has also stated in the petition that the high court cannot use Article 144 to issue a verdict where controversial evidence is presented. The prime minister stated that Babar’s presence in the scrutiny committee was against the law.

Babar, a founding member of the PTI, had filed a case against the PTI in November 2014 claiming in his petition that there were massive financial irregularities in handling of foreign funding to the tune of nearly $3 million.