On September 27, the ECP summons Imran Khan in his individual capacity, along with Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar.
Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, and Asad Umar were all called in their individual capacities on September 27 after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday deemed their response to the contempt case “unsatisfactory.”
The contempt case against Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, and Asad Umar was heard by a four-member ECP bench. Imran Khan did not insult the Election Commission, according to the response, which was provided by Barrister Gohar and Faisal Chaudhry Advocate. Instead, they said that Khan just voiced worry about the Commission’s function in his words.
“The Election Commission has no authority to hear the cases, nor can the Secretary of the Election Commission send notices. The ECP’s notice is a violation of the Constitution, so it should be withdrawn,” it further stated.
The bench was informed by Faisal Chaudhry that the case has already been contested in the Lahore High Court. The secretary of the Election Commission has issued the show-cause notice, although by law he is not required to do so. It can only be issued by the Supreme Court. The Election Commission is a defendant in the petition and the matter is already pending before the Lahore High Court, he informed the bench.
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Faisal explained to the media that he had submitted the response on the grounds that the ECP was not a judicial platform and could not, therefore, issue contempt notices after appearing before the four-member bench.
“A judicial reference has also been filed against the ECP Member Nisar Durrani with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). We have asked him to disassociate himself from the bench hearing the matter,” he said, adding that the ECP had reserved the verdict on the matter.
The Pakistan Election Commission was prohibited from taking action against the PTI leaders in the contempt matter by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The appeal against the electoral watchdog’s contempt notice was heard by Justice Jawad Hassan at the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench, according to sources. It was filed by PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry.
Fawad’s attorney, Advocate Faisal Chaudhry, contended at the hearing that since the ECP was not a court, it was not covered by the Constitution’s “contempt of court provisions.”
On September 7, the court issued a notice asking for a response from the electoral board while barring it from making a final decision.
Imran Khan, Asad Umar, and Fawad Chaudhry received a contempt notice from the Election Commission on August 19.
Plans for Khan’s assassination?
After his competitors failed to outmanoeuvre Imran Khan politically, PTI Senior Vice-President Chaudhry Fawad Hussain hinted to an attempt to murder him on Monday.
“All of these guys are involved in the plot to kill Imran Khan and are minor players in it. Only this government is trying to remove Imran Khan by playing the religious card. It first filed blasphemy cases, then terrorism cases. After attending the party’s political committee meeting, he told reporters, “When things did not materialise, these guys want to create an atmosphere of religious hostility by taking up different claims.
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Fawad announced that a team of journalists working with the Strategic Media Cell had also produced a video while being flanked by PTI Senator Sania Nishtar.
“All these people are actually working on the murder of Imran Khan; they are small partners of the whole scheme and want to create religious hatred in the country,” Fawad claimed.
He claimed Maryam Nawaz was in charge of the Strategic Media Cell and provided funding for it, and he claimed they had no difficulty utilising a religious argument to remove Imran Khan from office.
Fawad claimed that Maryam Nawaz was directing the media cell’s agenda and that it was working round-the-clock to spread disturbances throughout Pakistan.
According to Fawad, only the PTI held two telethons for the flood victims.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Sania Nishtar said that during the August 29 telethon, Rs 5 billion was pledged, of which Rs 2 billion was given to rehabilitation by a single Texas resident. She said that there were a number of reasons why Rs3.8 billion could not be received using credit cards from abroad. According to Dr. Sania, Rs5.2 billion was raised throughout the telethon’s two hours.