No reference filed with SJC against CEC: Babar Awan

ISLAMABAD: PTI senior leader Babar Awan Thursday confirmed neither a reference had been filed with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja nor was it withdrawn.

In a message WhatsApped to this reporter, Awan said work for preparation of the reference was underway for which material had been collected. “So, don’t give importance to fake news leaks,” said the tweet.

Talking to the media in Islamabad, PTI leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that the reference filed against the CEC with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) had been withdrawn, as some additional documents and legal points were to be added to it.

“Neither the PTI has filed a reference with the Supreme Judicial Council against the chief election commissioner nor was it withdrawn,” well-placed sources privy to the matter confirmed to this reporter.

Earlier, it was reported that the PTI had filed a reference through Babar Awan against the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja with the SJC for his alleged misconduct. “This is totally baseless, as no such reference has been filed with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja,” confided another source to The News.

A three-member ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar (CEC) Sultan Raja, had announced the verdict in the PTI prohibited funding case. Soon after the ECP verdict, former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan had called his legal team for deliberation and to prepare a case with sound footings.

The legal team of PTI has started deliberations over the legal options and the ‘illegality’ made in the ECP verdict by holding meetings through Zoom.