ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the bailable arrest warrants issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, its secretary general Asad Umar and senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry.
Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan Monday heard the PTI leaders’ plea against the warrants, suspending them while directing the ECP to continue with its contempt proceedings against the trio.
The warrants had been issued by a four-member ECP bench, headed by member Nisar Durrani, last week for their failure to appear at the hearing for a contempt case. They came after the Supreme Court “allowed” the tribunal to continue its proceedings against the three politicians in the case.
During the proceedings on Wednesday, Ali Bukhari and Anwar Mansoor, lawyers representing the politicians, informed the court that their clients, Chaudhry and Umar, would not be able to attend the hearing due to medical reasons.
Bukhari said that Chaudhry’s mother is currently hospitalised in Lahore, and he is with her, while Umar’s doctor had advised him against traveling to Islamabad.
The leadership of the opposition party, most notably Khan, have been criticising the “partisan” conduct of the commission and Raja since its government was removed in April. Khan, in particular, has criticised Raja, describing him as a “puppet” of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance and “biased” against his party.
The party has repeatedly demanded Raja step down, saying it cannot trust the results of polls conducted under his leadership.
Following numerous instances of Khan targeting the commission in his speeches, the ECP in August issued notices to the three over passing “inappropriate remarks” and levelling allegations against the commission and its members.
It said Khan had used “insulting and indecent language” against Raja in rallies on July 12, 18, 21, 27, August 4 and 8.
According to the Election Act 2017, Section 10 titled “Power to punish for contempt” states the “election commission may exercise the same power as the high court to punish any person for contempt of court and the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 (V of 2003), or any other law pertaining to contempt of court shall have effect accordingly.”
