Contempt case: Authorities continue to violate directives by not presenting IK before ECP: lawyer

ISLAMABAD: The authorities concerned continue to violate the directives of the electoral entity by not presenting Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan before the commission in the contempt case, the former prime minister’s counsel has informed the poll body.

In addition, framing contempt charges on part of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the head of the country’s largest political party would not go down well with the public and create a negative public perception, Advocate Shoaib Shaheen informed the four-member ECP bench, hearing the contempt case, on Thursday.

Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Babar Hassan Bharwana and former justice Ikramullah Khan heard the case.

The bench members informed the defence lawyer that the Interior Ministry presented a report to the bench mentioning serious life threats to Khan being a major reason for not bringing him to ECP from Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.

“Why should we take the risk of having him (Khan) appear here?” Jatoi, the ECP member, asked the defence lawyer.

The defence counsel reminded the bench that it had issued Khan’s production orders for his appearance before the bench—and that those production orders were not being implemented by the authorities.

Apart from that, Faisal Chaudhry, the brother and counsel of former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, informed the bench that Fawad was also locked up in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. He said Fawad was not facing any security threats, urging the bench to order the authorities to produce him in the next hearing.

Another former PTI leader Asad Umar appeared before the bench and submitted an affidavit affirming that he quit politics, urging the poll body to drop contempt proceedings against him.

The bench adjourned the case till December 6.

On October 19, the poll body issued two production orders of Khan, over ECP and chief election commissioner’s contempt, for framing charges against him in the contempt case on October 24.

However, on the given date, what appeared to be an embarrassment for ECP, the caretaker government declined the commissions’ directives to produce Khan before the poll body in the contempt case—instead— a report submitted by the Interior Ministry recommended to the ECP to hold the proceedings of the contempt case in Adiala Jail citing serious security threats to Khan.

The ECP bench took the Interior Ministry’s report as an affront to the ECP and summoned Secretary Interior Dr Aftab Akbar Durrani on November 13.

The Secretary Interior, on the said date, appeared before the bench and submitted another report which also mentioned of serious security threats to Khan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023