ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a setback on Monday after Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed its plea to bar the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from probing the source of party foreign funding.
A single bench, comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, announced the reserved verdict on the petition filed by PTI chairman Imran Khan through his counsel.
The PTI chief through his counsel had moved the petition to seek the court’s injunction against the ECP.
The petition stipulated that the top electoral body lacked jurisdiction to hear and give decisions on complaints filed by citizens questioning the source of the party funds.
The verdict on the petition was earlier reserved by a single bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, on last Friday.
At the last hearing, PTI counsel Barrister Anwar Mansoor contended before the court that the ECP has been acting beyond its limitations as its lacked the subject-matter jurisdiction over the foreign funding of political parties.
“ECP is neither a court nor a tribunal,” he then asserted.
He argued that the top electoral body couldn’t pass orders of sharing documents about party’s funds with another political party.
Justice Kayani had then reserved a decision on the petition after hearing his arguments.
Earlier, a former party member of PTI had petitioned for a scrutiny in party’s foreign funding in the ECP.
