Foreign funding case: PTI objects ECP's 'unequal treatment' in new petition

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has filed a miscellaneous petition to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for allegedly facing unequal treatment from the institution as compared to the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the foreign funding case, ARY News reported on Sunday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in its new petition, requested the ECP to equally treat all political parties including PTI, PML-N and PPP. The PTI sought ECP to hear foreign funding cases against PTI, PML-N and PPP at the same time.

The petition stated that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ordered ECP for equal treatment to all political parties.

READ: IHC SUSPENDS 30-DAY DEADLINE ORDER IN PTI FOREIGN FUNDING CASE

It further elaborated that the scrutiny process of all three respondent political parties had been started in 2018 but the ECP conducted the 19 hearings of PTI’s foreign funding case but held only two hearings of PPP and PML-N.

The petition stated that the delayed proceedings of the PML-N and PPP did not give an impression of equal treatment to the political parties by the ECP.

The petition read the divisional bench of the IHC had ordered that ‘the worthy ECP will ensure that an uneven playing field is not created by treating the political parties differently, and further that, the worthy ECP to proceed with the scrutiny process by treating all the political parties equally and in accordance with the law.”

READ: PTI CHALLENGES IHC ORDER TO DECIDE FOREIGN FUNDING CASE IN 30 DAYS

“That for all intent and purposes, the scrutiny process of PML-N and PPP which was also started in the year 2018 as of PTI, but the scrutiny process is moving in a slow pace, whereas, proceedings in the case of “Akbar S Babar vs PTI, has been placed at a fast track which tantamount to not treating PTI alike.”

The political party pleaded with the ECP to complete the scrutiny process of foreign funding cases at the earliest and the verdict on all the cases should be announced on one and the same day.