ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday issued bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Imran Khan and two top members of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry, in cases involving the alleged contempt of Sikandar Sultan Raja, the chief election commissioner.
The warrant, issued by a four-member bench headed by member Nisar Durrani, came a week after the Supreme Court “allowed” the tribunal to continue its proceedings against the three politicians in the case.
The leadership of the opposition party, most notably Khan, have been criticising the “partisan” conduct of the commission and Raja since its government was removed in April. Khan, in particular, has criticised Raja, describing him as a “puppet” of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance and “biased” against his party.
The party has repeatedly demanded Raja step down, saying it cannot trust the results of polls conducted under his leadership.
Following numerous instances of Khan targeting the commission in his speeches, the ECP in August issued notices to the three over passing “inappropriate remarks” and levelling allegations against the commission and its members.
It said Khan had used “insulting and indecent language” against Raja in rallies on July 12, 18, 21, 27, August 4 and 8.
According to the Election Act 2017, Section 10 titled “Power to punish for contempt” states the “election commission may exercise the same power as the high court to punish any person for contempt of court and the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003 (V of 2003), or any other law pertaining to contempt of court shall have effect accordingly.”
The PTI leadership had also sought from the high courts a declaratory relief from the charges.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the tribunal rejected pleas from leaders of the PTI and issued arrest warrants for them, setting a surety bond of Rs50,000 each. The development came after the ECP gave the trio a final chance to appear before the commission at the previous hearing and warned that failure to do so would result in warrants being issued.
Subsequently, the bench adjourned the proceedings until January 17.
In his response, Umar took to Twitter to express his disappointment, stating that the commission had failed to fulfil its responsibilities, accusing it of being guilty of contempt of court for not holding local bodies elections in Islamabad.
الیکشن کمیشن نے وارنٹ گرفتاری جاری کر دیئے عمران خان صاحب، میرے اور فواد چوہدری کے. اپنا الیکشن کروانے کا کام کرنے کے بجائے ان کاموں میں لگے ہوئے ہیں. خود یہ توہینِ عدالت کے مرتکب ہیں اسلام آباد الیکشن نہ کروا کر
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) January 10, 2023
