Islamabad HC Refuses To Stop ECP From Acting Against Imran Khan

Islamabad, March 19  : The Islam­abad High Court (IHC) declined to issue an interim order restraining the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from proceeding against Prime Minister Imran Khan and federal ministers for allegedly violating the code of conduct during the ongoing campaign for local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dawn reported on Saturday. The ECP had earlier issued notices to Khan, KP Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, federal ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Murad Saeed, and others for allegedly violating the canvassing rules ahead of the polls. After receiving the ECP notices, Khan and Planning Minister Asad Umar petitioned the IHC. The court registrar’s office then raised administrative objections to the petition, which were later removed by the prime minister and the petition was subsequently fixed for a hearing by Justice Aamer Farooq. During the hearing, the defence counsel argued that the president promulgated an ordinance amending the Elections Act of 2017 to enable public office holders to canvass during the election campaigns. However, the chief election commissioner, sought the draft code of conduct for the next elections and said that the ECP had revised the code of conduct for all stakeholders in light of the consultation. The court, was also of the view that the election commission had the constitutional mandate to devise a code of conduct to ensure free and fair elections. Justice Farooq, issued notices to the ECP and the Cabinet Division, and asked the Attorney General to assist the court in this matter. The next hearing in the case is set for March 28.