Islamabad, Sep 7: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has given Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ‘a last chance’ to submit its reply to the poll body’s show cause notice in the prohibited funding case.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Tuesday gave two more weeks to the PTI, making it clear that it would not be extended any further, a Dawn report said.
The commission set September 19 as the next date of hearing.
The hearing was last adjourned on August 23, with the commission giving more time to the PTI to file the reply.
Party counsel Shah Khawar informed the ECP that he was busy in the Supreme Court on the last hearing of the case and asked the ECP for more time as he needed to gather information from the PTI’s foreign chapter, including National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and other related documents.
On August 2, the ECP announced that it had been proven that the PTI had received the funding from prohibited sources.
The ECP judgment said that the PTI had received prohibited funding from the US and Canada besides receiving funds from Wootton Cricket Limited. Moreover, the judgment said the PTI also took funds from 34 foreigners, including Arif Naqvi, Abraaj Group and others.
Subsequently, after a few days, a show-cause notice was issued to the PTI Chairman Imran Khan with a directive to appear before the ECP on August 23.
The case was filed by PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar, alleging serious financial irregularities in the party’s funds received from foreign countries.
