PTI mulling filing 'judicial reference' against chief election commissioner: Fawad

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that his party was considering filing a "judicial reference" against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja for allegedly violating “the election and judicial code of conduct," Aaj News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad Chaudhry said: "The ECP chairman and members receive salaries equal to high court and Supreme Court judges. Even their perks and privileges are similar to judges."

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"Thus, the code of conduct that applies to them is that of the superior courts," Chaudhry said, adding: "Never does a judge of the superior court meet the respondents of a case he is hearing. He does not hold discussions over it."

Earlier this week, a delegation of the ruling alliance held a meeting with the representatives of the ECP. During the meeting, the coalition government urged ECP officials to immediately release the verdict in PTI's foreign funding case.

Fawad claimed that the meeting was a "gross violation" of electoral rules. He went on to say that the CEC's meeting with the government officials was also against the judiciary's code of conduct.

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"Ignoring these rules, they [the CEC] met a respondent in a pending case and assured them that a decision will be taken," he claimed, adding that the CEC even issued a press release later.

Earlier, Deputy Secretary Information Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Farrukh Habib urged the ECP to announce verdicts of PTI, PPP, and PML-N’s foreign funding cases simultaneously.

Farrukh said all the records related to those transactions were available, adding there was no case against Naqvi or his Abraaj Group in 2012. According to him, Naqvi had donated £20 million to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as a bribe. Naqvi had also hosted a dinner for Nawaz Sharif, he added and demanded that the PML-N should respond to those claims as well.

Habib said a media trial was being conducted against the party every now and then related to foreign funding. The case against the PTI was not related to foreign funding, rather it was of prohibited funding, he said.