It has been a long journey for both the petitioner, PTI founding member Akbar S. Babar and the PTI itself, but with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ordering open hearings of the foreign funding case from January 4, it seems that the issue has entered the home stretch. That the PTI does not fear an explosive result is shown by its Chairman and PM Imran Khan’s proposal that the hearings be aired live on PTV. The hearing was only made possible after the ECP accepted the report of a technical committee which it had mandated to end its scrutiny by the end of May, though it only reported back on November 26.
Ever since the case was instituted back in November 2014, it had been held as a Damocles’ sword which could be used against Mr Khan at any time, much as the Avenfield Flats were used against Mian Nawaz Sharif when he was Prime Minister, over Mr Khan. Therefore, the ECP’s new self-assertiveness, and its readiness to take up the case, should serve as a relief for Mr Khan. True, his fears of what could be done sheds an unholy light on the charges against Mr Sharif, but it secures Mr Khan from ouster through a backdoor. Getting him out of office will involve either a vote against him by the National Assembly or by the electorate if he manages to carry Parliament with him to the next election.
Apart from the PTI and Mr Khan, other parties which are facing similar charges should also take heart, especially their legal eagles. The judgement in the case should set some standards over what is actually an uncharted field. The recognition of political parties, and the rules governing their conduct, are a relatively new field, and while there is a vast volume of case law on individual candidates contesting, and the duties of their agents, there is a small corpus on parties. The PTI’s lawyers had fought tooth and nail to avoid the case moving along, so it is too much to expect they will change.
However, it is to be hoped that the ECP will move along the case to its logical conclusion, be that what it may.
