PTI’s foreign funding: IHC directs ECP to decide case within 30 days

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide the PTI Foreign Funding case in the next 30 days.

The order was issued in the detailed IHC verdict released on Thursday in which the IHC had dismissed the PTI appeal against the ECP order rejecting two PTI applications seeking dismissal of the foreign funding case and disassociating Akbar S Babar from the case and keeping the PTI documents secret.

PTI founding member and former information secretary Akbar S Babar had filed the case in the ECP in November 2014, alleging financial irregularities in PTI’s foreign funding and that it received funds from prohibited sources. The PTI has been rejecting these charges as baseless and unfounded.

IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, in his detailed order, rejected the PTI's writ petition as the law allowed Akbar S Babar to participate in the case proceedings and the ECP, as a constitutional body, has the right to seek his assistance and come to conclusions based on the merits of the case.

Babar’s lawyers have concluded their arguments in the case with reference to the ECP’s scrutiny committee report while PTI’s lawyers are trying to defend funding, claiming nothing was received from prohibited sources.