LAHORE: Ex- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Monday moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench against indictment proceedings in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for contempt against the commission.
It is pertinent to mention that the electrical watchdog had initiated contempt proceedings against the three for issuing statements against the electoral body and the chief election commissioner.
A four-member commission headed by ECP Sindh member Nisar Durrani heard the contempt case and announced the to indict Fawad on July 11. Fawad Chaudhry, in his plea, has named the federal government and other relevant parties as respondents.
He argued that the Election Commission’s notice dated August 19 had already been challenged in court, and the court had explicitly ordered not to make any decision without a proper hearing. Hence, he urged the court to restrain the ECP from proceeding with the indictment process. In response to Fawad’s plea, Justice Waqas Rauf has referred the petition to the Chief Justice for consideration by a larger bench.
NAB decides to arrest Usman Buzdar
Meanwhile, The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has reportedly decided to arrest ex-PTI leader and former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar.
The bureau has requested its chairman to issue an arrest warrant as under the new ordinance, Usman Buzdar can be arrested during the inquiry stage.
The NAB refused to receive a response from Usman Buzdar’s lawyer on his client’s non-appearance. The lawyer had said Buzdar cannot appear before the NAB’s Lahore office. A case of assets beyond known sources of income, transfers and postings and irregularities in awarding contracts is going on against Usman Buzdar.
An investigation is underway against Buzdar and his family for accumulating assets worth more than Rs9 billion. A separate case of wheat export is also under investigation against Usman Buzdar.
