ISLAMABAD:
The Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan, and his former close aide, Fawad Chaudhry, have been given non-bailable arrest warrants by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The failure to appear in court on a contempt charge resulted in the issuance of the warrants.
After Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, and Asad Umar, the former senior vice president and party secretary general of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), made disparaging remarks about the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and its chief election commissioner (CEC) on many occasions last year, the commission began contempt proceedings against them.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) demanded that Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, and Asad Umar all show up for the upcoming session. However, neither Imran Khan nor Fawad Chaudhry showed up to the hearing on Tuesday.
After resigning as secretary general of the PTI, Asad Umar was defended in court by his assistant lawyer Umaima Mansoor.
Mansoor asked for a postponement of the hearing since both Umar’s lawyer and Umar himself needed medical attention. The attorney for Fawad Chaudhry said that his client was in Lahore and so unable to attend.
The ECP bench, headed by Sindh member Nisar Durrani, was frustrated by the continual postponements.
Justice (ret.) Ikramullah Khan, a member of the ECP in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region, said that the practise of adjourning sessions indefinitely was not possible.
Umar’s attorney said that her client had met with the ECP on multiple occasions.
Justice (retired) Ikramullah replied that witnesses in a contempt case must come before the commission.
On Umar’s behalf, his attorney submitted a request for an exemption.
As Durrani pointed out, this is not how the case can or will be settled.
The hearing was postponed till July 25 and non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for both Imran Khan and Fawad Chaudhry.
After the Punjab by-elections, Imran Khan demanded the resignation of CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, alleging that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had rigged the results in favour of their party. This sparked the contempt case.
While still a member of the PTI, Fawad Chaudhry asked Pakistan’s top judge to remove the CEC from office on the grounds that he is a “crony” of the ruling alliance.
In his role as PTI secretary general, Asad Umar called for the CEC’s arrest, arguing that the ECP was violating its constitutional mandate to organise elections in Punjab as ordered by the Lahore High Court.
The ECP has expressed concern over the conclusion of the current contempt case, which has led to tensions between the PTI and the ECP. The next hearing is scheduled for July 25 and will likely decide the following steps and their consequences.
